April 17, 2013

Cargill to strengthen popularity of Spencer Beef in Japan

 

Cargill Meat Solutions and the Nebraska Department of Agriculture (US) have begun a campaign to restore the prominence of the Spencer Beef brand in Japan.

The brand had disappeared from the Japanese market after a case of bovine spongiform encephalopathy in 2003. US beef exports to Japan were also suspended.

Nebraska Agriculture Director, Greg Ibach, will promote the Spencer Beef brand at events in Tokyo and Osaka, Japan. He said Spencer Beef will only be produced at Cargill's Schuyler, Nebraska processing plant. It will be branded as a Nebraska product in the Japan.

"This week's events are part of the Nebraska Department of Agriculture's (NDA) ongoing effort to brand Nebraska as a premier supplier of high quality agricultural goods to the international marketplace," Ibach said.

According to Cargill, sales of fresh and frozen Nebraska beef to Japan averaged US$340 million annually in the five years before the ban on exports in 2003. Nebraska sold almost US$113 million in fresh and frozen beef to Japan in 2012.