On October 23-28, 2022 Japanese meat importers visited Poland. The delegation consisted of: Ryo Araki – Assistant Manager at Matsuda Sangyo CO., LTD; Ryoya Gono – Sales in Meat Section at Maruha Nichiro Corporation; Naoki Isoda – Sales  Dept Manager at Hyochiku Limited; Ryoga Omura – Member at Nomura Trading CO., LTD; Jun Matsumoto – Group Leader at Toyota Tsusho Foods Corporation. Due to a positive test result for Covid, a participant from Hong Kong was unable to attend the visit.

During this visit, guests from Japan had the opportunity to see Polish production plants, talk to representatives of public and economic institutions. These were, among others, the Union of Producers and Employers of Meat Industry, the National Center for Agricultural Support, the Polish Investment and Trade Agency, the Chief Veterinary Inspectorate and the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development, as well as representatives of the meat industry in Poland.

On the first day, guests from Japan were greeted with dinner. A representative of the Union of Producers and Employers of Meat Industry presented and discussed the exact plan of the visit. Through Japanese translators, the participants learned about the beef industry in Poland and the European Union.

The next part of the visit was visiting slaughterhouses and processing plants. For this purpose, importers visited Zakład Mięsny Mościbrody (Mościbrody Meat Plant), which made a great impression on the visit participants.

Then the importers went to the Greater Poland Voivodeship, where they visited two Zakłady Przemysłu Mięsnego Biernacki (Biernacki Meat Processing Plants). In addition to presenting the history and experience of companies, during the meetings, the guests were shown around the plants. They were able to look at the production processes and observe how the compliance with the standards in force in the European Union looks like in practice. Importers also tried processed meat. During the trip, Japanese importers also visited a farm dealing with cattle fattening.

The importers also visited specialist stores. They visited the Befsztyk store in Warsaw and the company store of Zakład Mościbrody. The meetings were combined with the presentation of stores, sales stands, as well as a discussion of the current range of goods, packaging and sales techniques.

The visit was complemented by meetings with representatives of public institutions. Importers first visited the Polish Investment and Trade Agency, where during the presentation they learned about entrepreneurs’ support instruments and Poland’s export opportunities. Then, the meeting at the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development, apart from Ryszard Bartosik, Deputy Minister of Agriculture, was attended by Adrian Głowacki, Deputy Director of the Export Support Department, and Paweł Meyer, Deputy Chief Veterinary Officer. Representatives of public institutions spoke about the production processes, EU standards and beef exports from Poland in detail. The meeting concluded the visit of the Japanese importers.

The study visit of Japanese representatives of the meat industry was an excellent opportunity to build long-term business relationships. It also allowed for a valuable exchange of experience and knowledge and for the presentation of the opportunities that cooperation between the European Union and Japan brings.