• USDEC cheese activities in Southeast Asia

• Check your China facility registration

• Harden, Hershey explore dairy opportunity in Morocco

• Morris looks for dairy common ground with German officials

• Still time to sign up for SI “Office Hours”

• Market Summary: NZ milk production

• Lab-based dairy alternative challenges

• Panama Canal extends shipping restrictions

• Company news briefs: Bega Cheese, Ornua, McDonald’s, Popeyes

 

USDEC showcases U.S. cheese in Southeast Asia
USDEC took the U.S. cheese story to Southeast Asia last month with a series of activities in Thailand and Singapore. USA Cheese Guild events in both countries aimed to highlight the expansive U.S. cheese portfolio and provide a platform for U.S. cheese suppliers to connect with foodservice professionals, distributors and retailers.

Thailand
The Thailand event took place in Bangkok and included a day-long Think USA Cheese Workshop and a members-only retail tour. At the workshop portion, more than 100 representatives from Thai food and beverage manufacturers, importers, distributors and foodservice operators interacted with USDEC staff and U.S. cheese experts, including representatives from a dozen USDEC member companies.

The event was a mixture of presentations from expert speakers and blocks of time for USDEC members to network with attendees.

Among the speakers, Amy Foor, USDEC vice president, Global Foodservice Programs, explained Why Choose Cheese from the USA; Chef Giovasco Barlao, co-founder of Elev8 Foods Pte Ltd., offered his perspective on Why Cheese is Becoming a Mainstay in Southeast Asian Plates; and Anoo Pothen, USDEC Southeast Asia’s director, Consumer Insights, reviewed How Consumer Trends Are Driving Cheese Consumption in Southeast Asia. Dali Ghazalay, regional director, USDEC Southeast Asia, moderated a hour-and-a-half panel discussion featuring four U.S. cheese suppliers, exploring the breadth of the U.S. cheese industry and how the United States can service Thailand’s rising demand for cheese.

There were ample opportunities for interaction between attendees and USDEC members during a morning networking/coffee break, lunch and a two-hour table-top exhibit after the presentations.

“The event was designed to give participants many opportunities to engage directly with the suppliers to gain valuable insights into the U.S. cheese industry,” said Ghazalay.

“By all accounts, both members and attendees found the event extremely valuable,” said Angélique Hollister, USDEC senior vice president, Global Cheese Marketing, and executive director, USA Cheese Guild. “Members felt the list of attendees was high quality—all the key players were there and engaged. From the attendee side, we heard this event was great (even better than a trade show) because it was focused on cheese.”

USDEC Southeast Asia office chief Dali Ghazalay (standing, left) introduces USDEC members participating in a Q&A panel as part of the Think USA Cheese Workshop in Bangkok. Seated left to right are Bee Mooi Mooi from Glanbia Nutritionals, Noel Navin of Agropur, Charly Chai from MCT Dairies, and Gordon Craig from Talmera USA.

The members-only market briefing and retail tour offered further networking opportunities and information on Thailand’s potential as a growing export market. Kelly Stange, USDA Regional Agricultural Counselor for Thailand, Myanmar and Laos, presented the market briefing, and Kamolrat Chotesungnoen, country representative, Thailand, USDEC Southeast Asia, explored U.S. cheese opportunities in Thailand.

Those sessions were followed by an immersive retail tour of Bangkok’s major supermarket chains, including Gourmet Market, Siam Makro Sathon and Tops Supermarket.

“The tour allowed participants to witness for themselves the growing cheese demand fueled by tourists and younger Thai consumers,” said Hollister.

Participants explore the expansive range of U.S. cheese available in Thailand during an immersive tour of Bangkok’s largest supermarket chains.

Singapore
In Singapore, the USA Cheese Guild continued its mission to create a generation of “USA Cheese” ambassadors by educating a new cohort of USA Cheese Specialists™. Led by USDEC consultant chef Muhammad Imran, the Guild certified 30 representatives from NTUC FairPrice under the USA Cheese Specialist™ Certification Program (CSCP) for Retail Professionals.

NTUC FairPrice is Singapore's largest retailer, serving more than half a million shoppers daily through its network of 370 outlets. Participants in the program learned how to identify, cook, pair and artfully present a wide array of cheeses from the U.S.

“We are thrilled to witness our USA Cheese Specialist™ community flourish and look forward to nurturing even more cheese enthusiasts around the globe,” said Hollister.

Chef Muhammad Imran highlights U.S. cheese varieties, tastes and applications during the USA CSCP training program for Retail Professionals.

USA Cheese pairings and presentation are key skills learned by participants in the USA Cheese Specialist™ certification process.

Newly certified course graduates celebrate their USA Cheese Specialist™ status in Singapore.

Check your China facility registration
Most U.S. dairy facilities registered to ship dairy products to China had their registration status expire yesterday, Aug. 31. Following up on an Aug. 28 USDEC Member Alert that officials from the General Administration of Customs of the People’s Republic of China (GACC) were working through the registered list of U.S. dairy facilities’ renewal applications, we can confirm that as of today, Sept. 1, 215 U.S. dairy plants have had their registrations renewed. These plant registrations are valid for five years, which would make them set to expire on Aug. 31, 2028.

USDEC advises U.S. dairy exporters to verify their CIFER registration status at the CIFER website before shipping. Companies that ship unregistered products are subject to denial of entry at Chinese ports. If a U.S. facility has questions after viewing their registration, please contact FDA Center for Food Safety and Applied Nutrition (CFSAN) Export Certification at cfsanexportcertification@fda.hhs.gov.

Please reach out to Eddy Fetzer at efetzer@usdec.org if you have further questions.

Harden, Hershey explore dairy potential in Morocco
This week, USDEC President and CEO Krysta Harden and DMI Chair Marilyn Hershey, made an exploratory trip to Morocco to assess U.S. dairy opportunities in the country and strengthen relationships with government and industry representatives. The mission covered three cities: Casablanca, Rabat and Marrakech.

Because the United States has a free trade agreement with Morocco, the country not only offers growing opportunities for U.S. food and agricultural suppliers, but it also serves as a “gateway to Africa.” Morocco is a net importer of agricultural and related products, with potential for increased sales of U.S. bulk dairy commodities. Moroccan food and beverage makers use the commodities to produce high-value, consumer-oriented products.

Although the Moroccan dairy market is dominated by the EU, USDEC meetings with the private sector revealed a desire to diversify supply sources and an eagerness to work with U.S. companies.

Harden, Hershey and leader of USDEC’s office in the Middle East/North Africa (MENA) region, Nina Bakht Halal, held meetings with officials from the U.S. embassy, the Moroccan government and the nation’s food and beverage industry and went on a series of supermarket tours.

USDEC President and CEO Krysta Harden, DMI Chair Marilyn Hershey and head of USDEC’s MENA office Nina Bakht Halal talked dairy at a lunch meeting with USDA’s Foreign Ag Service team.

The group met at the U.S. Embassy with Aimee Cutrona, deputy chief of mission; Ben Rau, agricultural attaché-Morocco, Tunisia and Libya; and Mohamed Fardaoussi, agricultural specialist.

Additional meetings took place with Youssef Alaoui, president of the parliamentary group of the General Confederation of Moroccan Enterprises in the House of Councilors; Rachid Benali, president of the Moroccan Confederation of Agriculture and Rural Development; and Abdelaziz Lamhaimer, purchasing manager at Copralim, a major importer/distributor.

Discussions focused on collaborative efforts with Moroccan entities that would lead to mutually beneficial growth, boosting both the Moroccan food industry and U.S. dairy exports to the region.

USDEC meets with German officials, continuing to discuss EU trade challenges and areas of common ground
Shawna Morris, USDEC senior vice president, Trade Policy, met yesterday with officials from the German Agricultural Society (DLG) and the German embassy to discuss policies impacting dairy trade between the U.S. and EU and explore areas for common ground. The meetings were the latest in USDEC’s ongoing outreach to deepen engagement with the EU and work together to support shared goals, including boosting global dairy consumption, advancing sustainability and food security, and strengthening innovation and trade.

Earlier this year, USDEC signed Memorandums of Understanding to strengthen cooperation with the Italian dairy organization Associazione Italiana Lattiero Casearia (Assolatte) (see Global Dairy eBrief, 7/28/23) and with Eucolait, the organization representing the European dairy trading community (see Global Dairy eBrief, 5/26/23) to strengthen cooperation. Those followed talks that took place late last year with officials at the Italian Embassy (see Global Dairy eBrief, 11/18/22) and with EU officials and farm and food groups in Paris and Brussels in and around the SIAL Paris food exhibition (see Global Dairy eBrief, 10/21/22).

Still time to connect with USDEC’s Strategic Insights team during “Office Hours” on Sept. 7, Sept. 20 or Oct. 4
It’s not too late to sign up for one-on-one time with USDEC’s Strategic Insights (SI) team. The SI team is hosting “Office Hours” for USDEC members on three days in September and October.

“Office Hours” include a dedicated 30-minute block of time to engage in insightful discussions with the USDEC SI team. Whether you require guidance on specific export markets, products or strategic decision-making, the SI team offers a wide range of resources and can provide custom research analysis tailored to your specific requests.

NEW SI office hours are available on the following dates and times:

• 7: 10 a.m. – 12:00 p.m. ET
• 20: 10 a.m. – 12:00 p.m. ET
• 4: 9:30 a.m. – 11: 30 a.m. ET

Sign up for a time to meet with the Strategic Insights team here.

NZ off-season milk production lags
New Zealand’s 2023/24 dairy year is off to a slow start. Year-over-year milk production fell 0.7% in July after declining 1.7% in June. Wet weather has caused soggy ground and limited pasture growth on the North Island, a situation that continued into August.

Taken on its own, the bad start to the year is not an omen of imminent decline. This is the Kiwi off-season, and June and July together represent only around 2.5% of full-year New Zealand milk output. Weather heading into the October peak could easily turn more favorable. However, declining farmgate milk price forecasts for 2023/24 (some estimates suggest current milk price projections are well below break-even for dairy producers) are reportedly causing farmers to pull back on spending, particularly in the area of supplementary feed and fertilizer. The two factors together are creating production questions for 2023/24.

The challenge of lab-based dairy alternatives
Lab-based, fermentation-derived dairy substitutes are generating a lot of buzz, but turning the concept into long-term business success may not be that easy, as an Aug. 23 article in Bloomberg notes. The article, “Cow-free dairy wants to beat the fake foods curse, but first … Those prices,” outlines the problems facing fermentation startups and how many have had to cut back or redirect original business ambitions. One of the key challenges is the cost. Fermentation-derived dairy ingredients cost up to five times the price of real milk-based ingredients.

The biggest way those lab-based startups could make inroads against dairy, the article states, is by convincing food and beverage companies that precision-fermentation dairy alternatives are worth the cost if it helps them meet their carbon-reduction goals. To read the entire article, click here (may require registration or subscription).

 

Panama Canal extends shipping restrictions
The Panama Canal expects to maintain restrictions on vessel transit and maximum draft for at least 10 months (see Global Dairy eBrief, 8/25/23) until the next rainy season arrives. That is assuming a normal rainy season in 2024. The El Niño climate pattern that started this spring now has a 95% chance of continuing through the Northern Hemisphere winter. El Niño typically contributes to drought in Panama.

Authorities are recommending vessel owners reserve slots ahead of time to avoid delays. Some ships have diverted from the canal, particularly bulk carriers, since they do not have priority to pass, as container ships do. The backlog of ships has fallen to about 115 from more than 160 earlier this month. (Reuters, 8/24/23)

Bega buys Tasmanian dairy businesses
Australia’s Bega Cheese paid A$11 million (about US$7 million) for certain assets of TasFoods Ltd.’s Betta Milk and Meander Valley Dairy businesses. The deal includes a perpetual, royalty-free license for Bega to use the Pyengana Dairy brand in Australia. (Company reports)

Company news briefs
John Jordan, CEO of Irish dairy manufacturer and marketer Ornua, is stepping down to take on a new position as COO of a U.S.-based private equity firm. The Ornua board named current CFO Donal Buggy as interim CEO while it began a search for a permanent replacement. … McDonald’s Malaysia plans to spend more than US$40 million to open 36 new stores in Sabah, the Malaysian state on the island of Borneo. The company expects to complete the expansion by 2030, giving it 52 total stores in Sabah. … Tim Hortons China plans to open 1,700 Popeyes units in China over the next decade. (USDEC Southeast Asia office; USDEC China office; Company reports)

 

• USDEC members learn more about SE Asian consumer perceptions of sustainability  
• USDEC hosts USA Cheese workshop in Thailand  
• Thailand a growing export market for USA Cheese  
• Harden, state ag officials on NASDA trade mission meet with U.S. Ambassador to Indonesia
• Harden in Indonesia building relationships and promoting U.S. dairy