April 19, 2005

Japan's beef imports up, prices to fall

Japan's beef imports rose 15 percent in February, with consumption 5 percent higher than in January. However, consumption of domestic beef fell by 6 percent.

The increase in imports for the month has caused imported prices to fall.

Still, the nation's overall beef consumption has not recovered since the ban on US beef in 2003, dropping 14 percent to 806,456 tonnes in 2004.

Japanese pork consumption for the first two months was 253,736 tonnes or 7 percent lower than the same period in 2004, but is expected to increase throughout 2005, as Japan reduces its trade barrier against Mexican pork imports.