April 22, 2013

US beef shipments to Japan may rise 45% in 2013

After Tokyo relaxed in February its import curbs, which were imposed over concerns about mad cow disease, US beef exports to Japan are expected to rise about 45% in 2013.

Japan, the world's third biggest economy, started accepting US beef from cattle up to 30 months old on February 1, a change from a 20-month limit in place since 2006.

Japan banned all US beef imports when the first case of the disease was found in the US in 2003, shutting down the US industry's largest export market, and handing Australian producers a prized new opportunity.

The age of the cow and some inner organs are considered a risk factor for mad cow disease, or bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE).

The US Meat Export Federation expects US beef sales to Japan to rise to 217,000 tonnes in 2013, federation president Philip Seng told a news conference in Tokyo, from 149,000 tonnes in 2012. In 2003, US beef exports to Japan totalled 267,000 tonnes.

Tokyo in February also allowed imports of some beef parts, including T-bone steaks, from the US.

"We are seeing new optimism and enthusiasm," Seng said, adding that growth-focused Prime Minister Shinzo Abe's economic policy has been helping to improve consumer sentiment.

Last year, beef from BSE-free Australia accounted for 62% of Japan's imports of 514,000 tonnes, or JPY220 billion (US$2.2 billion) by value. Annual beef demand in Japan has been steady at around 870,000 tonnes in the past couple of years, government data show, with domestically produced beef making up the deficit of roughly 350,000 tonnes, or 40% of the total.