November 1, 2004

 

 

US Unlikely to Export Beef to Japan Anytime Soon
 

American cattle producers will benefit from the reopening of the Japanese border to US beef imports. But they probably will not see a full restoration of their exports to Japan any time soon.

 

Under the agreement, US beef shipments to Japan will not happen until the Japanese revise their animal health regulations, including their testing for mad cow disease, or bovine spongiform encephalopathy. The agreement was reached on October 23.

 

According to the US Department of Agriculture, sales of US beef to Japan are unlikely for at least several weeks.

 

Japan closed its borders to US beef last December after BSE was discovered in a Canadian-born cow in Washington State.

 

The Japanese are presently testing 100 percent of the cattle slaughtered there for BSE. Under the agreement, they will accept US beef from cattle 20 months of age and younger. Scientists say BSE almost never shows up in cattle until they are 30 months of age or older.

 

About 70 percent of the 35 million cattle slaughtered in the United States each year are steers and heifers 20 months or younger, suggesting that the new agreement will permit a major portion of previous sales to be recovered.

 

However, the agreement has not spurred the domestic market much, according to Tom Buis, vice president of government relations for the National Farmers Union.

 

"The futures market hasn't responded much," Buis last week from Fort Pierre.

 

"I don't know anyone in the cattle business who is much excited about the agreement, because it is a limited opening. It requires us to identify the age of all animals, and the initial reports from what I've seen state we also have to open our markets to Japan's beef," he said.

 

"They've had 14 cases of BSE in the past five years, including a recent case. Our position has long been that we have to be very careful about opening up borders to BSE ... until we're darn sure they've taken all the steps necessary to prevent contamination of our marketplace."

 

The USDA acknowledged that Japan has asked to resume its limited sales of beef, primarily an expensive, specialty beef known as Kobe beef.

 

The USDA said it would conduct a risk assessment that includes inspection of Japanese processing facilities.

 

South Dakota state veterinarian Sam Holland said he expects that, like any other country with a history of BSE, before shipping beef here, Japan would have to ensure it has safeguards in place against BSE, such as import restrictions, a good surveillance plan for BSE in target animals (such as animals that appear to be injured or ill at slaughter), and a ban on feeding offal from ruminant animals to cattle.

 

Holland expects, however, that all the specifics of the agreement will take a while to work out. "Nothing's going to happen immediately," Holland said Friday. "I think it will be several months."

 

However, the reopening is an obvious positive development for the US cattle industry, said Holland, who also heads the South Dakota Animal Industry Board.

 

"I think any time you can take $2 billion worth of beef and have a market for it abroad, it can be nothing but good," he said.

 

One other obstacle to regaining the Japanese remains, Holland said. After Japan closed its borders to US beef, Australia and New Zealand increased their beef exports to Japan. "Whenever you lose an export market like that, someone will fill the gap," he said. "It will take time to develop that market and break into that market again."