The “Meat with European quality” campaign has been running for two years now and is just coming to an end. By far the most important part of the initiative was initiation of business contacts between representatives of the industry from Europe and America.

In November 2018, we welcomed a group of journalists and opinion leaders from Canada and the United States in Poland. Our guests had an opportunity to visit several meat plants located here, as well as meet with meat producers and representatives of institutions responsible for supervising the system of production and distribution of meat and related products.

A study visit to Poland of meat importers and distributors from Canada and the United States took place between 7-15 March 2019. The programme of the visit included a seminar with the participation of representatives of public administration bodies, organisations supporting the development of international trade and experts in meat production and meat market. We initiated a series of meetings between the visit participants and local meat producers and exporters. Our guests also had an opportunity to visit several production plants and to learn about the rules of meat production in the European Union. They also visited renowned market halls and meat retail stores.

Between 1-2 April 2019, European campaign experts visited the Grocery and Specialty Food West Trade Show in Vancouver, the biggest food fair in the province of British Columbia. From there, they went to Los Angeles, where they hosted a seminar entitled “High Quality of European Meat – Tradition and Passion”. It was attended by American meat market experts, wholesalers and processors.

From 30 April to 2 May 2019, visitors at the International Food Fair SIAL Canada in Toronto were able to visit the stand dedicated to “Meat with European quality”. During these three days, campaign experts present at the stand met with dozens of food producers and importers from Canada and representatives of Canadian public institutions. Culinary demonstrations and tastings of European cuisine held at the stand met with a great interest among other guests and visitors of the fair. During their stay in Toronto, the European exporters visited manufacturing plants and import and logistics businesses. They also met with representatives of the Ministry of Agriculture for Ontario, which supports local entrepreneurs and food producers in establishing business contacts.

In November 2019, representatives of European meat producers and exporters attended the annual Meat Import Council of America conference in Austin, Texas (5-6 November 2019). They met with numerous brokers and processors from the United States, as well as representatives of trade networks and economic institutions. From Austin they travelled to Toronto, where on November 8th they hosted a workshop entitled “High Quality of European Meat – Tradition and Passion” for Canadian importers and food industry specialists.

As part of the campaign, several dozen advertisements were published in the American and Canadian food industry and trade press. There was also an advertising campaign in the industry’s digital media. Specialised analyses of the American and Canadian meat markets were also prepared for exporters.

For reasons of force majeure, a visit of American and Canadian journalists and opinion leaders to Poland, scheduled for April 2020, was cancelled. The COVID-19 pandemic, developing on both sides of the Atlantic, forced the organisers to cancel the entire event in consultation with the invited guests. It is a great shame, especially that the planned visit met with a great interest among journalists and opinion leaders across the Atlantic, and representatives of renowned trade publications intended to participate.

But nothing is lost! We are pleased to announce that the “Meat with European quality” programme will continue to run for the next two years, until spring 2022. As part of the new campaign most of the activities are planned to be resumed, including organisation of study visits and business meetings in Europe and North America, presence of campaign experts at SIAL Canada in Toronto in 2021 and an extensive communication campaign directed at meat sector professionals in the US and Canada.

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