Japan's August beef imports down 15 percent

Japan imported 38,864 tonnes swt of beef in August, down 15 percent on-year mainly due to a sharp decline in Australian frozen beef supplies.

Japan imported 27,246 tonnes of Australian beef in August, down 21 percent on-year, according to data by the Ministry of Finance.

The decline was mostly from frozen beef, which dropped 33 percent on-year and down 11 percent from the five-year average to 14,227 tonnes. The volume of Australian chilled beef also declined two percent to 13,019 tonnes.

Demand for Australian frozen beef has been impacted by the weak performance of Japan's foodservice sector, and cautious buying amid a shaky economy. 

US supplies increased 26 percent on-year to 8,109 tonnes. For the first eight months of 2009, US beef supplies totalled 43,312 tonnes, up 28 percent on-year.