Saudi Arabia Open Again For U.S. Beef

After more than a decade in place, technical barriers were lifted earlier this year by Saudi Arabia, meaning beef can return to the nation. U.S. Meat Export Federation President and CEO Dan Halstrom said this allows the American beef industry to capitalize on one of the world's fastest growing markets.

“Our forecast is that this is a $150 million opportunity, so we're planning accordingly," Halstrom said. "Saudi Arabia has held a lot of promise for a long time. It's a very young demographic. One of the youngest in the world under 30 years of age. And the prospects for future growth are just huge. The total global imports were over $1 billion of beef globally into Saudi Arabia, which we had a very, very small portion of less than $10 million.”

The Investment In Time Is Worth It

Hallstrom added while building the business back up will take time, this is the right time to do it.

“Even though it's been ten years, there's still buyers that know about U.S. beef and there's a lot more that want to learn about it," said Halstrom. "The family-style dining sector has absolutely been booming. $30 gourmet burgers in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. These are the sorts of things that are different in the last ten years, which is a perfect fit for U.S. beef.”

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