January 8, 2009
Japan's November beef imports up 10 percent
Japan imported 38,671 tonnes of beef in November 2008, up 10 percent on the same month in 2007, with 30,610 tonnes supplied from Australia.
The increase was due to constant solid demand for frozen beef, totalling imports from Australia to 16,882 tonnes, up 23 percent from November 2007, the US 2,457 tonnes, up 98 percent, and Canada 513 tonnes, up 379 percent.
Chilled imports reduced 6 percent to 16,967 tonnes, with limited chilled grainfed volumes from Australia constraining the recovery, despite the improved exchange rate for Japanese buyers.
Japan's import volumes from January to November reached 420,758 tonnes, down 1 percent from the same period in 2007.
