Australia is to join three other countries in an effort to boost beef consumption in Taiwan, news reports said yesterday.
Australia, the US, New Zealand and Canada comprise the Beef Alliance, a coalition promoting beef among Taiwan's mostly ethnic Chinese population.
Meat and Livestock Australia's South Asia regional manager, Tim Kelf, told Australia's AAP news agency that surveys showed many ethnic Chinese believed beef was fatty and not as nutritious as other forms of protein.
"This is really aimed at changing consumer attitudes to beef in a community that traditionally eats chicken, pork and fish," Kelf said.
"The campaign aims to increase beef consumption by educating people about the health benefits of beef and the important role it can play in the diet."
Average annual beef consumption in Taiwan is 4.2kg per person compared with 28.8kg for chicken and 43.5kg for pork.
"Increasing beef consumption at the expense of competing meats is difficult when beef has not traditionally been a part of the diet of ethnic Chinese, who comprise almost the entire Taiwanese population," Kelf said. "Chinese place significant importance on the health attributes of food. Promoting beef in this way is the best opportunity to change traditional eating habits."
Last year Australia exported 34,400 tonnes of beef to Taiwan. Most of its beef exports go to the US, Japan and South Korea.
RSS