USDEC's two new Middle East office hires—Karim Chachati and Firas Zahreddine—boast 20 years of combined experience in dairy and food sales, marketing, promotion and merchandising in the region. In other words, they have the knowledge and skills USDEC is seeking to help U.S. suppliers advance annual dairy exports from the equivalent of 15 percent of milk solids to 20 percent.

As you know by now, we are calling that goal "The Next 5%."

Secretary Tom Vilsack, USDEC president and CEO, sat down at last week's Gulfood show with Chachati, Zahreddine and Middle East office leader Nina Bakht Halal to discuss the opportunity and how they plan to assist U.S. suppliers to get to The Next 5%.
At last week's Gulfood show in Dubai, USDEC President and CEO Tom Vilsack interviews USDEC's two new hires in the Middle East and North Africa.

Having more boots on the ground in critical export growth regions—not only in the Middle East, but in Southeast Asia, China and elsewhere—is key to that effort. A greater in-market presence will help lift the profile of the United States as a dairy supplier, cultivate seller-customer relationships, and energize U.S. responsiveness to shifting consumer trends and market needs.

“Karim and Firas are part of the plan to deliver more people, partnerships and promotions in key markets to elevate the U.S. presence and deliver greater profits through increased sales of milk powder, cheese and other dairy ingredients,” says Vilsack.

Chachati and Zahreddine are the first of nine planned new hires in USDEC's network of overseas offices. Chachati is the new Middle East business development director whose responsibility is to help identify new opportunities and create new business cases for the U.S. industry to consider; Zahreddine is key account manager, responsible for identifying and establishing foodservice and retail outlet partnerships, and the development of USDEC promotional programs to support partnerships.

These expansions are made possible by $4 million in increased funding, with $3 million from state and regional dairy checkoff organizations, and $1 million from Dairy Management Inc. (DMI) through the national dairy checkoff. 

Middle East is only the beginning

Why start in the Middle East/North Africa (MENA)?

USDEC remains committed to defending and growing U.S. share in critical dairy export markets like Mexico and Latin America, but if the United States expects to reach The Next 5%, MENA will need to play a bigger role in U.S. suppliers' business plans.

Dairy demand growth in the region is strong. USDEC projects MENA dairy ingredient and cheese imports will rise by more than 160,000 tons and 85,000 tons, respectively, from 2016-2021.

At the same time, the European Union has redoubled its efforts in the region and is aggressively seeking to maintain dominance in the market. The U.S. market share in the Middle East has declined over the past few years, and U.S. suppliers must recover ground ceded to competitors.

The new positions—together with USDEC's broader regional growth plans—aim to meet the competitive challenge and maximize U.S. share of projected growth.

More changes to come

In recent years, many U.S. dairy suppliers have invested in dedicated personnel to manage overseas business and make the all-important face-to-face visits with overseas customers. Some have even opened overseas sales offices and invested in processing and packaging capacity to tailor products to overseas specifications. USDEC itself has had a physical in-market presence through its network of overseas offices for more than two decades in some regions.

But moving forward, given heightened competition, such assets will not be enough to reach The Next 5%. The U.S. industry and USDEC need to elevate the U.S. dairy export game.

When USDEC, with the help and input of membership, plotted the course to The Next 5% of U.S. dairy export growth, one of the keys needs was to expand member services internationally and bolster the industry's overseas business development.

"We need to be more customer-centric and more demand driven," says Vilsack. "We need to dive deeper into key markets and better address the unique requirements of individual cultures, consumers and end-users. And we need to improve supplier-customer interaction."

For USDEC, that has meant a reorganization by geography rather than product sector, with units dedicated to Latin America, the Middle East/North Africa (MENA), North Asia and Southeast Asia. Each region has its own business unit director as well as team leads by target market (see organizational chart below).

But the reorganization is about more than shifting personnel and responsibilities. It also means adding more in-country resources for members to expand and deepen market knowledge, bolster overseas relationships and ultimately advance U.S. dairy sales.

USDEC's overseas offices are hiring nine experts to support members' export efforts: business development directors, market access and regulatory affairs specialists, a key account manager, a food application scientist, and a research and analysis manager.

The new hires in the Middle East office are the first additions under the plan. As the year goes on, we expect to fill the other positions to bolster U.S. dairy export support around the world.

Margaret Speich is senior vice president of strategic and industry communications and Luke Waring is manager of communications and membership at the U.S. Dairy Export Council. 

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The U.S. Dairy Export Council fosters collaborative industry partnerships with processors, trading companies and others to enhance global demand for U.S. dairy products and ingredients. USDEC is primarily supported by Dairy Management Inc. through the dairy farmer checkoff. The password-protected article above is intended for USDEC member organizations only and should not be shared with anyone outside your organization.