2008 International Internship

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USMEF Announcement

     Seeking Interns for Two Graduate Student International Internships

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Introduction

The meat export market can vary significantly from the U.S. domestic market. Ninety-six percent of the world's population lives outside of the United States, making the international marketplace an important avenue for U.S. red meat.  With income levels, and thus purchasing power, increasing globally there is more international demand for high value red meat items than ever before. 

Since the discovery of a case of BSE in the U.S. on December 23, 2003 the international marketplace for red meat items has been more dynamic than ever.  The U.S. has struggled to re-gain access to international markets for beef products and made a lot of progress; not only has the U.S. regained a significant portion of its beef exports, but U.S. pork exports have grown tremendously.  In 2005, U.S. pork exports accounted for 16% of all pork traded globally; currently, that number is 26% meaning that 1 of every 4 pieces of pork traded internationally originated in the United States. 

Two particular markets of interest are Japan and South Korea.  From January through November of 2007, Japan was the largest export market for U.S. pork, importing 329,314 metric tons of pork valued at $1,059,932,000; increasing by 8% and 12% respectively from the same time period in 2006.  2007 was also the first full year that U.S. beef was exported to Japan and tremendous growth was witnessed with exports increasing 282% in volume and 310% in value from January through November compared to the same time period in 2006.  South Korea was another leading pork market by importing 86,407 metric tons worth $203,410,000 from January through November of 2007.  U.S. beef exports faced many challenges in 2007 and the market was open intermittently for about 5 months; but even in this short time span, South Korea imported 25,102 metric tons of beef worth $118,246,000.

Project Description and Objectives

The U.S. Meat Export Federation (USMEF) in conjunction with the American Meat Science Association (AMSA) is offering the opportunity for TWO students to participate in the Graduate Student International Internship Program with funding provided by the USDA Foreign Agriculture Service (FAS) and the beef and pork checkoff programs.  This internship will expose these students who are currently pursuing a Masters or Doctorate degree in Meat Science or Animal Science, to the international meat market.  One student will intern in Seoul, South Korea and the other student selected will intern in Tokyo, Japan.

 

There are several objectives for this program:

  1. Prepare U.S. meat scientists to address the constraints that various international market's economic, technical or policy conditions impose on the U.S. Meat industry's ability to export.
  2. Increase the international focus and content of U.S. meat science curriculums.
  3. Provide the agricultural industry with viable employees for international meat trade at meat companies or other meat related institutions.

Candidate Placement and Program Administration

USMEF will assist the university in the placement of the intern in a USMEF office outside of the U.S. USMEF will assist the university in organizing the travel for intern and will help to obtain any necessary visas or work permits. USMEF will locate suitable housing for the intern’s stay in-country.  All housing and flight costs will be funded as well as other living expenses during the internship.  The internship will last 60 days and USMEF will work with the selected student and university to determine the most suitable dates; generally this program runs for 60 days during the summer months of June and July. USMEF will supervise and oversee the intern's work.  The intern will be responsible for all work programs and personal performance.  The internship position will be designed to provide the student with a realistic and productive work experience, including but not limited to assisting with ongoing promotional activities, technical or trade policy issues, customer contacts, and market development programs.

Intern Responsibilities

The intern will be responsible for developing a paper for publication and presentation at the AMSA Reciprocal Meat Conference following the internship.  The intern/candidate will be responsible for obtaining "leave" from their university/major professor for the program and to obtain a valid passport (with at least 6 months validity remaining). The intern will be given academic credit (within university guidelines for internship programs) and any other compensation will be at the discretion of the university.  It will be the responsibility of the intern to conduct oneself in a fashion respectful of the laws and customs of the country in which they are placed.  In the event of a misdemeanor or felony, the internship will be immediately terminated. 

Program Eligibility

Student must meet the following eligibility requirements:

Target Markets

The purpose of this program is to provide a broad range of experiences in various markets.  Theinternships for 2008 will take place in:

Seoul, South Korea Intern Preliminary Project Plan- Seeking One Intern

Tokyo, Japan Intern Preliminary Project Plan-Seeking One Intern

Timeline

 

 

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