DENVER — US pork exports to Central America were outstanding last year, according to the US Meat Export Federation (USMEF), and that momentum has persisted into 2024 with the assistance of consumer education programs.

In 2023, pork exports to Central America climbed 20% year-over-year to a record of $405.7 million. Export volume was the second largest on record at 137,500 tonnes, up 15% from 2022. Transitioning into the new year, exports through February jumped 17% year-over-year to over 24,000 tonnes, while value soared 26% to $72.4 million.

Lucia Ruano, USMEF representative for Central America, said consumer education programs funded through the US Department of Agriculture and the National Pork Board have helped drive growth in the region.

“In Central America, they used to think that pork needs to be overcooked and that maybe it’s not as healthy as they would like,” she said. “But we have been educating and making all of these workshops where they can learn the nutritional facts because we bring experts to these types of workshops, where they can have all that information firsthand from doctors and nutritionists who give them the correct information of what pork proteins represent. We also teach them how to manage it, how to cook it.”

The workshops, offered through a program called Girls Can Grill, showed targeted consumers how to properly prepare US pork cuts, especially the loin and tenderloin.

“We trained around 300 women, and it was very nice to see how surprised they were when they tried the pork cooked in the correct way,” Ruano said.

In 2024, USMEF launched another similar program called Inspire Us, which focuses on alternative cooking methods in addition to grilling.