Bison Continues To Enjoy Growth Overseas

U.S. bison now has duty-free access to the EU under a 3,000 metric ton quota.  Jim Matheson, executive director of the National Bison Association, said the industry has been building demand in the EU and Switzerland for decades.

“Bison has always been popular in Europe, but very limited in availability," Matheson noted.  "The venues the bison are going to is largely food service. Europe has always been fascinated by American Western culture, and bison, of course, is a perfect fit in that Western culture. So, as such, it started as a novelty, and then the Europeans discovered what a high-quality protein bison is.”

Matheson added this recent access announcement is part of a decade long story in which the sector has grown “significantly”.  And because of a host of recent trade negotiations, Matheson expects these good days to continue.

“Bison is kind of a low-hanging fruit, and I say that because we only raise bison in the United States and Canada, so there's really no competition in these new markets that we're seeking access to," Matheson added.  "And in the last 12 months, my gosh, we've seen Taiwan open up, Australia open up, dropping the tariffs for the EU along with Switzerland. We're now working on Japan. I just had a meeting with Foreign Ag Service yesterday discussing Japan, and that's got a lot of momentum right now. We're hoping to see that happen soon.”

Click Here to learn more about the National Bison Association.

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