May 2, 2005

US beef export losses of US$4.7 billion

Bovine spongiform encephalopathy or mad cow disease has caused losses to the US beef industry of up to US$4.7 billion, says a study from the Kansas Department of Agriculture.

The most significant economic impact of BSE is from lost beef export markets, said Kansas Secretary of Agriculture Adrian Polansky. " Alone, they accounted for a $3.2 billion to $4.7 billion revenue loss to the industry last year."

Within days of the US Department of Agriculture's late 2003 announcement that a cow in Washington state had been diagnosed with BSE, 53 countries banned imports of US cattle and beef. Five countries -- Japan, Mexico, South Korea, Canada and Hong Kong -- received 90 percent of US beef exports in 2003.