December 4, 2006

US beef increases in Japan

The resumption of trade between US and Japan seems to have brought good news to the former as its beef imports rose 17 percent. totalling 38,654 tonnes on October 2005 levels.

The volume of US beef was up 60 percent from September this year, exceeding the 1,000-tonne mark for the first time since the lifting of the ban in late July. However, this was still less than 5 percent of the average monthly US shipments during the pre-ban days in 2003.

Beef imports from Australia made up 90 percent or 34,777 tonnes of Japan's total beef imports for the month, with 4 percent imported from the US, and the same percentage from New Zealand.

While increased beef supply in Japan from US imports could place a downward pressure on import prices, in the short run the growth in Japanese imports from the US would be influenced by the latter's ability to supply to specification and Japanese consumers' demand for US beef.

Though the US beef has been making a slow but swift recovery, Japanese demand for Australian beef has been increasing and could continue to be so as the Japanese cold winter sets in.