September 1, 2006

Five Japanese supermarkets resume US beef sales

CGC Japan Co, a cooperative buying organisation for supermarkets, said Thursday (Aug 31) that five of its members would resume sales of US beef as early as the middle of next week, the Nihon Keizai Shimbun reported in its Friday morning edition.

The five companies said they decided to sell US beef due to requests from customers.

Even though Japan lifted its ban on imports of US beef in July, most supermarkets are remain cautious about the meat and only a handful of restaurant chains have started to offer US beef. Others have preferred to wait until volumes arrive en masse to bring down prices.

The five supermarket operators are located in Tokyo, Chiba, Miyazaki and Ishikawa prefectures.

CGC Japan bought 1.2 tonnes of beef from US firm National Beef Packing Co that arrived by sea freight.