Twenty years of promoting Canadian pork around the world is paying dividends.
Canadian Pork International was formed two decades ago and has been so successful that Canadian pork exports have tripled in the last 15 years, CPI’s vice-president of technical programs and marketing services told delegates to Alberta Pork’s annual general meeting in December.
In total, about 16 per cent of Canada’s pork production is exported to more than 100 countries, said Michael Young. With roughly 20 per cent of the world’s export trade, Canada is the third-largest pork exporter behind the U.S. and the European Union.
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CPI participates in 14 global shows promoting Canadian pork each year and emphasizes market access, which includes multilateral and bilateral negotiations, regulatory advocacy, and technical issues that affect trade.
“Market access still remains a top priority for CPI,” said Young. “It’s everything. It’s a prerequisite for promotion, differentiation initiatives, and market development. Market access cannot be taken for granted. Trade disruption can happen at any time, anywhere.”
He pointed to BSE and H1N1 as examples of extreme trade disruption.
“Market access defines the elite group of exporters in the world,” he said.
According to 2009 data, the U.S. imported about 31 per cent of Canadian pork exports and Japan imported about 29 per cent. Other major customers include South Korea, Mexico, Australia, China, Taiwan, Russia, and Hong Kong.
Market development is another focus of the agency, which is composed of the Canadian Pork Council, export groups, processors, industry- related groups and allied associations. This includes identifying new markets, and attending trade shows and meetings in order to put products in front of customers. CPI also focuses on on-farm food safety programs, animal health, and biosecurity. These initiatives are crucial for doing business in the global marketplace, said Young.
End-user focus
The organization focuses its consumer marketing on international end-users who will be buying Canadian pork by determining what these consumers want, and targeting its messaging accordingly.
“We don’t do a lot of generic marketing,” said Young. “We focus our marketing on the customers who buy Canadian pork. That’s how we get the best return on our investment.”
In order to do that, it has to differentiate between Canadian pork and its competitors’ product.
“Our Asian customers have taught us a lot about merchandising,” Young said. “We also need to look at new Canadians who are coming into this country and tap into what the Asians do with our products. They’re teaching us how high quality the meat that we sell really is. We need to listen.”
The agency also creates technical marketing tools, such as handbooks, and hosts technical marketing seminars, which include peer-to-peer sessions.
“Peer to peer means that if I’m going to cut a carcass in front of a bunch of packers, I better look like I know what I’m doing,” Young said.
“It is a carcass-cutting demonstration to focus on Canadian aspects, a direct comparison between what we do in Canada and what our American competitors may do, or what the market of the area is doing. We never position ourselves as being better; we simply position Canadian pork and what it will give you.”
CPI works with the Canadian Food Inspection Agency, the Department of Foreign Affairs, market access secretariat, and embassies in more than 50 countries to improve and acquire Canadian trade access.
“At the moment, China, Russia, Ukraine and the EU are the most significant files that we’re working on,” Young said.
