A new trade opportunity is opening doors for the American bison industry as U.S. bison exports now qualify for duty-free access to the European Union under a newly implemented tariff rate quota (TRQ). A recent report highlighted what the change could mean for producers and why industry leaders see Europe as an important growth market.
The new TRQ allows up to 3,000 metric tons of U.S. bison to enter the European Union each year without import duties. Industry leaders say the change will help expand export opportunities for producers while building on decades of demand from European buyers.
U.S. Bison Exports Continue to Grow
National Bison Association Executive Director Jim Matheson said American bison has long been well received in Europe, despite historically limited availability.
“Members of the National Bison Association and our marketers in particular have been exporting to the European Union and Switzerland for decades,” Matheson said. “Bison has always been popular in Europe but very limited in availability.”
He explained that much of the exported product is sold through the food service sector, where European consumers have embraced both the story and the quality behind American bison.
“Europe has always been fascinated by American Western culture and bison, of course, is a perfect fit in that Western culture,” Matheson said. “It started as a novelty and then the Europeans discovered what a high-quality protein bison is and have gotten a little bit hooked on that.”
New Market Opportunities for Producers
Matheson noted that while the U.S. bison industry has traditionally focused on domestic consumers, production has expanded significantly over the past decade, creating opportunities to grow exports.
“So we in the bison industry have largely had a domestic marketplace that we’ve supplied in our short history as an industry,” he said. “However, we have grown significantly in the past decade particularly and have expanded into these new international markets.”
Because bison are raised only in the United States and Canada, Matheson said producers face little direct competition in overseas markets, making Europe an attractive destination for future growth.
Hear more from Jim Matheson about expanding export opportunities for the U.S. bison industry by listening to the full interview below.