July 14, 2004

Pork Imports May Increase Due To Beef Shortages In Japan

Despite increased imports of Australian beef, restaurants and retail stores in Japan are experiencing shortages of beef. Imports of beef from the United States - once Japan's biggest supplier - have been banned for the past seven months since the United States reported its first case of bovine spongiform encephalopathy.

According to Meat and Livestock Australia, the shortages are causing a surge in demand for substitutes and are likely to cause pork imports in Japan to exceed the safeguard trigger level.

"It is expected that the safeguard on pork imports will be applied from August 1-the fourth consecutive year that the pork safeguard has been triggered," MLA said in a release.

The safeguard would be applied this year if imports for the April to June period exceed 257,000 metric tons, MLA said. As import volumes for April reached 134,000 tons and around 89,000 tons for May, only 34,000 tons may be imported before the safeguard is activated. If imports for June follow previous years, the level could fall between 50,000 and 60,000 metric tons.