April 17, 2009

US Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack on Wednesday (Apr 15) said he hopes to see an expansion in US beef exports to Japan.

He said high-quality US beef should be made available to Japanese consumers.

Vilsack, who is scheduled to attend a three-day meeting of agriculture ministers of the G8 countries in the Italian city of Treviso from Saturday, said he is looking forward to meeting Japan's agriculture minister Ishiba Shigeru.

Vilsack said he and Ishiba would be able to have brief talks on how the US can regain the trust of Japanese consumers regarding US beef.

Japan limits US beef imports to meat produced from cattle aged 20 months or younger due to concerns of bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE) or mad cow disease. The US has been urging Japan to scrap the age limit.