Quality British red meat has sparkled in the sunshine state for major food service sector players from the US and beyond.

Four red meat export business joined the Agriculture and Horticulture Development Board (AHDB) at the Americas Food & Beverage Show in Miami to showcase British pork and lamb.

Visitors to the AHDB stand had the chance to sample dishes cooked up by AHDB's Food Communications Manager Denise Spencer-Walker as well as make important business connections with UK exporters.

Susana Morris, AHDB Senior Trade Development Manager, said: "We have identified opportunities for pork and lamb exports in the southern US and the wider region such as Mexico and the Caribbean.

"The Americas Food & Beverage Show provided the perfect platform to champion our quality pork and lamb to key food service buyers from not only these areas but also from further afield. Being able to taste the product is a key part of that and we were delighted that our own Denise Spencer-Walker produced dishes to tantalise the taste buds of visitors to our stand.

"Coupled with the opportunity for buyers to meet with our exporters, it proved to be another successful event in helping our quality British red meat make further inroads in key markets in the region. For example, pork exports to the US, Canada and the Dominican Republic in the first half of 2024 have all increased on the year in both volume and value. Volume shipments to the US were up 4% at 3,603 tonnes and worth £12.3 million. Volumes to the Dominican Republic increased by 15% on the year at 2,508 tonnes with a value of £4.7 million (up 77%), while volumes to Canada rose by 40% at 588 tonnes with a value of £2.8 million (up 129%)."

The Miami event came hot on the heels of AHDB's presence at California Restaurant Show in Los Angeles last month (August). Both form part of AHDB's wider international trade development programme, which includes coordinating inward and outward trade missions as well as appearing at trade shows to help British red meat exporters connect with buyers in-market.

Susana added: "Our levy payers have told us how much they value AHDB's work in supporting exports. Appearing at the Americas Food & Beverage Show is a further demonstration of our commitment to work with industry to help deliver positive outcomes for our red meat sectors."

Further details about export opportunities for UK red meat and dairy in specific regions around the world can be found in the AHDB analysis Prospects for UK agri-food exports.