February 18, 2008

Re-entry of US beef into Japan pushes beef consumption

Japanese beef consumption during 2007 increased 3 percent on the previous year to about 820,000 tonnes.

Even though imported beef consumption rose 4 percent to 468,000 tonnes, it is still 20 percent below 2003 levels when mad cow disease caused the country to ban US beef.

The increase was attributable to the re-entry of US beef into the market, according to Meat and Livestock Australia (MLA). Even though US beef imports only accounted for 7.2 percent of Japanese imports, the resulting competition between US beef and Australian beef influenced prices, reducing both export and wholesale prices.