March 6, 2006

Australia to retain large share of Japanese beef market

Australia will continue to retain its large share of the Japanese beef market even when US beef re-enters the Japanese market, said David Palmer, managing director of marketing concern at Meat and Livestock Australia.

Palmer said that the Australian beef industry could even cater to increased demand from Japan and still supply other major markets such as South Korea and the US. Some 91 percent of total Australian beef exports go to Japan, South Korea and the US.

Australia made up for the beef supply shortfall when Japan banned US beef in 2003 due to concerns about the mad cow disease. This led to Australia dominating 90 percent of Japanese beef imports in 2005.

Palmer added that Japan has yet to make plans to resume US beef imports. In addition, he believes that Japanese consumer confidence have been affected by the latest ban on US beef.

He said while US beef will not return to the Japanese market with the same strength as in 2003, Australia will continue to be a steadfast supplier of safe and quality beef to the Japanese market.