September 11, 2009

The US meat industry is slightly behind its target of 100,000 tonnes of beef exports to Japan this year, despite subsiding mad cow disease concerns there.

For the first six months of 2009, the US has exported about 40,000 tonnes of beef to Japan, according to USDA data. That was way behind the target, but still 17-percent above from a year ago, said Philip Seng, head of the US Meat Export Federation (USMEF).

Seng said the US industry hoped to move closer to its forecast, and that a recent consumer survey showed that positive views of US beef outweighed the negative views.

Japan was the largest export market for US beef until mad cow disease or bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE) was found in the US in December 2003, prompting Tokyo to impose a ban.

Japan has lifted the ban since 2006, but allows only beef from cattle aged 20 months or younger, a condition that has made regaining foothold in the market difficult for US beef.

But the US beef industry is still hopeful to see a full return to Japan, a market which imports about 250,000 tonnes of US beef prior to the ban. The US is continuing to persuade Japan to fully reopen its market.

Seng said there were some worries about working with Japan's new government but the concerns should not last long as they will familiarise with the conditions soon.