US Meat Export Federation (USMEF) President and CEO Philip Seng says up to 20 countries are competing for market share in Japan, seeking to woo consumers with products tailored to their needs.

“This lends itself very well to the US pork industry because we have a tremendous ability to brand our products and differentiate our products in many ways here in Japan,“ says Mr Seng in a media briefing from Tokyo Wednesday.

Joining Mr Seng on the conference call were National Pork Board President Tim Bierman, National Pork Board CEO Chris Novak, USMEF Vice Chair Danita Rodibaugh and Joel Haggard, USMEF senior vice president for the Asia-Pacific region.

The officials are visiting Japan to commemorate the 50th anniversary of the 1959 Hog Lift, when Iowa farmers responded to a major typhoon by airlifting hogs and grain to Japan. National Hog Farmer reports that officials are also assessing market activities and US pork promotions in Tokyo.

Mr Seng says Japanese consumers are willing to pay for product brand differentiation based, for example, on hog breed or type of feed or geography.

Pork export sales to Japan in 2009 were valued at $1.5 billion and USMEF projects a 4 per cent increase in 2010.

US pork currently holds nearly 46 per cent market share of Japan’s pork products imported.