September 26, 2006

Japan's strict regulations stifle US beef sales

Lack of cattle under 20 months of age that Japan stipulated for US beef has limited sales of the product in Japan, Phil Seng, chief executive of the US Meat Export Federation (USMEF) said in the midst of a Japan tour.

While most countries who have in the past placed restrictions on US beef now impose a 30-month limit on the age of US cattle, Japan has a much stricter 20-month limit which is harder to meet.

Moreover, lengthy procedures at customs, which can take up to a week for shipments to clear, are delaying deliveries, he added.

The shortage, along with tariffs, has raised the prices of seemingly average cuts of US beef to prices comparable to that of the premium Wagyu beef sold in Japan.

Still, there is talk in the Japanese scientific industry that two previous cases of mad cow diseases in animals aged 21 months and 23 months, which prompted Japan to set the limit, may not in fact have been legitimate, Seng said. If true, this may force Japan to raise its age limit to 30 months to conform with the rest, Seng said.

In any case, the rules may be changing for US beef, since Japan would soon be having a new prime minister stepping up to the post, who would then be naming a new cabinet and possibly, new heads of the agriculture and health ministries.

Whether the new cabinet would be implementing major changes is unclear.

USMEF is touring major cities to promote beef to trade buyers, senior executives, and the public. The group has so far been well received by the media and expects to meet with about 800 meat buyers on this trip.