January 4, 2013

Japan sees 15% drop in beef imports in November 2012

Japan's beef imports stand at 40,727 tonnes during November 2012, a 15% drop on-year, mainly due to reduced intake of frozen beef from Australia.

With the Japanese foodservice sector - the major outlet of imported frozen beef in Japan - facing challenges under the tough economic climate, importers were careful not to overload their inventories. As a result, imports of frozen briskets and 'other' frozen beef (mostly manufacturing beef from Australia) fell 11% from last year to 9,762 tonnes and 35% to 8,274 tonnes, respectively during the month. In comparison, chilled beef imports were relatively steady at 18,744 tonnes, down 7% from 2011 but 2% higher than the five-year average.

Shipments from the US declined on-year for the first time since October 2010 to 10,502 tonnes swt (7% lower than 2011), triggered by tight supplies and strong prices. The average C&F value of the US chilled shoulder/round during the month increased 10% from the same time in 2011, and US frozen brisket value surged ahead at 38%.

The eleven months total in 2012 amounted 477,710 tonnes (1% higher than the same time in 2011), with the Japanese trade predicting the yearly imports to exceed 520,000 tonnes.