The company hoped to sign a contract with US suppliers in April and to send the first shipment – of approximately 20 tons of fresh chilled beef, about 10 tons of canned beef and trial quantities of various other beef products – immediately thereafter, told Audrius Kantauskas, Biovela Group CEO.
"The batches have not yet been produced. All that time since the obtaining of authorizations we've been talking to US distributors. We want to choose the best and the most favorable ones, those who have well-developed infrastructure in America, such as storage facilities and vehicles, and can get down to trade. We haven't yet fully approved our distributor but it looks like we've reached the homestretch and will have our own distributor in the near time," he said.
Biovela Group also wanted to supply pork products to the United States, Kantauskas said, adding that those plans were put on hold due to swine fever.
Egidijus Mackevicius, director of the Lithuanian Meat Processors' Association (LMPA) told that Lithuania had not yet sent any meat shipments to the United States as the companies authorized to export those products to the US were still looking for trade partners in that market.
Last November, several Lithuanian companies, including Utenos Mesa, Biovela, Krekenavos Mesa, Krekenavos Agrofirma, Pajurio Mesine, Agrovet, Grimeda and Klaipedos Mesine, received authorizations to supply meat to the United States.
