February 8, 2005

Japan's broiler imports to recover in 2005
 

Japan's poultry market is expected to rebound in 2005 following a spate of avian influenza outbreaks in Japan and in the main supplier countries.

According to the USDA Foreign Agricultural Service report, total imports (broiler meat and cooked and prepared products) are expected to reach 595,000 metric tons. This is a 5-percent increase from 2004's forecast figure of 564,00 MT, the lowest in recent years.

Bans on poultry from Thailand, China and the United States caused 2004 imports to plunge by nearly 20 percent, and enabled Brazil to capture most of the import market. Although higher than in 2004, the 2005 import estimate is still low compared with the yearly average of 716,000 MT from 2000 - 2003. 

Imports of broiler meat are projected at 65,000 MT, up 3 percent from 2004, with Brazil maintaining its 85 percent market share. The strong yen is expected to favour imports from Brazil.  In addition, Japan is not expected to lift its bans on broiler meat from Thailand and China in 2005 due to ongoing concerns about avian flu outbreaks in those countries.     

Imports of cooked poultry are expected to increase in 2005 by 10 percent to 230,000 MT, easing the tight supply situation in the food service and the prepared food sectors.

Japan allows import of cooked poultry product from designated plants in China and Thailand, and these suppliers are expected to account for 95 percent of cooked product imports. According to Japan's Agriculture Ministry, 55 plants in China and Thailand are approved for export to Japan.  The ministry announced last month that it approved another 11 plants in Thailand.