June 23, 2006

Japan agrees on conditions for resumption of US beef imports
 

Japan announced Wednesday (Jun 21) it has reached an agreement with the US on the conditions for a return of US beef to the Japanese market. However, the ban is still in place until all US beef plants to be inspected are cleared.

Japanese inspectors are expected to visit all 35 US meat plants approved for export to Japan. If no violations are detected, the ban would be lifted in mid to late July.

Japan's conditions for the re-opening of its beef market to US beef remains essentially the same as that of last year's- only beef from cattle 20 months or younger with specified risk material removed are allowed.

US beef arriving in Japan would undergo more stringent checks and Japanese inspectors would be allowed to accompany US inspectors on random audits of US meat plants.

An estimated 1,200¨C2,000 tonnes of US beef currently in warehouses in Japan will also be released onto the market once the ban is lifted.

Japan imports of US beef to the market are expected to be small at first, but they are expected to build up over the next few years as consumer confidence is restored. However, trade volumes are unlikely to approach its previous levels due to the stricter conditions.

Although the volume of Australian beef exports to Japan is not expected to be greatly impacted by the US return in the short term, export, wholesale and retail prices are expected to fall slightly.

The return of US beef should also arrest the slide in Japanese beef consumption, which has fallen 15 percent since and 25 percent down from 2000.

Australia, which supplies 90 percent of Japan's imported beef currently, is expected to retain much of the market share gained over recent years.