P.E.I. beef processing plant looks to beef up global sales after Japan deal

A beef processing plant in Prince Edward Island hopes to ramp up international sales of its product thanks to a recent food expo in Japan.

Last month, representatives of Atlantic Beef Products (ABP) travelled to Foodex 2024 in Tokyo, which brought around 80,000 grocery buyers, food-service companies and wholesalers through its doors March 5-8.

Based in Albany, P.E.I., the company gained federal approval to export its products to Japan last year. So its mission at the event was to market Atlantic Canadian beef products to buyers in that country.

Atlantic Beef Products president Russ Mallard said farmers here can offer specialized products to the international market to reap a meaty return on their exports.

"Japanese consumers aren't that interested in beef tenderloin or rib-eye," he said. "But they're very interested in very thin-sliced meats that they can use for soups or noodle bowls.

"We can sell them in Japan for a better return than we can get in Canada."

Mallard said the company secured an order to ship three containers of frozen beef to Japan, a journey which will take around 60 days. Each of those shipments contains about 24 tonnes of beef, he said.

Until this point, the meat packing facility's only international shipments have been to the United States, a relatively minor portion of ABP's overall export business.

Judo Shibata, left, and Russ Mallard, president of Atlantic Beef Products, are exploring potential partnership opportunities for Japanese grocery stores. (Wayne Thibodeau/CBC)

'Totally different from other beef'

Roughly 60 per cent of the beef processed at the plant stays in Atlantic Canada, while most of the remainder heads to Ontario and Quebec.

One of those people who found out about Atlantic beef through the Tokyo food convention was Japanese beef farmer Judo Shibata.

Shibata was so intrigued with ABP's product, he travelled to the Albany facility this week looking to partner with the company to import cuts of beef to grocery stores in Japan.

Story continues

While many Japanese farmers specialize in high-end wagyu beef products — including one of the world's priciest, kobe beef — he said the market there is always hungry for more options, if the price is right.

Representatives of Atlantic Beef Products in Albany, P.E.I., travelled to Foodex 2024 in Tokyo, Japan, in early March to market their products internationally. (Wayne Thibodeau/CBC)

Shibata said he loved the sweeter taste of Atlantic beef he tried at the expo.

"It's totally different from other beef," Shibata said. "I hope we can export in the chilled condition for Japan, but right now we need to start [with] a shelf-life test first.

"I have to promote this product with my best customers and if they like it, then [we] go for the next step."

Although Atlantic beef will make up just a small portion of Canada's total beef exports internationally, Mallard said the Japan trip opened up new potential avenues for the region's farmers.

"The good thing about P.E.I. is that it's pretty well-known in Japan," Mallard said. "And we thought that would be an excellent opportunity to come over and introduce beef from P.E.I.

"We're really just getting going, but we're really happy to report that we were able to secure some business to get started."

He said other countries such as South Korea could be another opportunity for Atlantic Beef Products, so long as the market is the right size for the volume of beef the plant can process.

Atlantic Beef Products president Russ Mallard points to some of the cuts Japanese buyers are interested in, which include shaved beef for use in soups and noodle bowls. (Wayne Thibodeau/CBC)

"Even though we're small, we like to say we're limited edition," Mallard said. "If you've got something from us, then you've got something that very few other people have, which we think is a marketing advantage.

"We sometimes say our beef is 'beef with an address.' We've got a great story, we're pretty good at telling it — and now we want other people in the world to know about it."