Sandhusker
Well-known member
U.S. Beef Group Spends on Ads, Barbecues to Woo Japan Consumers
By Kanoko Matsuyama
Sept. 27 (Bloomberg) -- The U.S. Meat Export Federation is running full page ads in Japanese newspapers that cost as much as 79 million yen ($681,000) each to convince consumers American beef is safe to eat. The biggest supermarket chains don't buy it.
Repairing the image of U.S. beef after it was banned in Japan because of mad cow disease has fallen to Philip Seng, the chief executive officer of the U.S. Meat Export group, which has Tyson Foods Inc. and Cargill Inc. among its members. He said in an interview the U.S. industry may have lost $5 billion since Japan first imposed the ban in December 2003.
The ad spending, along with barbecue events and a new website are part of Seng's strategy to convince Aeon Co. and Seven & I Holdings Co., Japan's two biggest supermarket chains, to put U.S. beef back on the shelves after the government lifted the ban in July. He says demand is growing and supply shortages are a problem.
``Japanese traders are interested in importing U.S. beef; the challenge is providing sustainable supply,'' Seng, 57, said at a news conference in Tokyo. ``The suppliers weren't ready for the market reopening.''
Japan banned American beef imports for two years, shutting out U.S. companies from their biggest market for the meat, worth $1.4 billion out of total exports of $3.8 billion in 2003. U.S. beef's image was not helped when Japan lifted the ban in December 2005 only to impose it again a month later for six months when animal material that can carry the disease was found in a shipment of veal.
Resistance
Mad-cow disease, also known as bovine spongiform encephalopathy, or BSE, is spread in cattle by tainted feed. Eating spinal tissue or brain parts of infected animals can cause a fatal human variant of the brain wasting disease that has been blamed for the deaths of 152 people in the U.K. Japan reported its 26th case of mad cow disease in May.
``We haven't decided to import U.S. beef,'' said Aeon's spokeswoman Kaori Watanabe. ``The government said it is safe now, yet we are now thinking of how to provide peace of mind to consumers.'' Seven & I Holdings spokesman Ichiro Tanaka said the company's decision ``not to import U.S. beef'' is unchanged.
About 700 tons of U.S. beef have passed through Japanese customs as of yesterday and 15,000 tons should be imported by the end of this year, said Seng, who is fluent in Japanese and was involved in talks to negotiate the original opening of Japan's beef market in 1988.
`Only a Beginning'
The U.S. Meat Export group will run a series of consumer and trade campaigns running up to Christmas and into spring 2007 to regain Japanese customers lost to Australian beef suppliers.
The group said the newspaper ads are ``only a beginning of the campaigns.'' Seng declined to say what his spending budget is.
Under the agreement with Japan, the U.S. only exports beef from cattle 20 months or younger, which are regarded as too young to have contracted the disease. Inspection costs and tariffs present another obstacle to Seng, prices.
``It's the fact that cattle price is higher, it's the fact that there's a paucity of cattle that are eligible for Japan that make cattle very, very dear,'' Seng said. ``The inspection procedures are a big portion of this but we also have a 38.5 percent import going into Japan. There's a 40 percent in Korea.''
Unlike Aeon and Seven & I, Costco Wholesale Japan Inc. and restaurant chain Yoshinoya D&C Co. have started selling U.S. beef.
Sold Out
Costco, a Japanese unit of the U.S. discount warehouse retailer, imported 5.1 tons of U.S. beef on Aug. 8. The company's Chief Executive Officer Mike Sinegal said it sold in the same price range as before the ban and sold well. Some products were sold out in a few days.
Yoshinoya, a Japanese restaurant chain operator specializing in beef served on rice, had the U.S. meat back on the menu for a day on Sept. 18, priced at 380 yen per bowl, 100 yen more than before the ban. The item sold out nationwide by 9 p.m., except for restaurants on the southern island of Kyushu, where a typhoon closed stores.
``Three hundred and eight yen is the price only for limited sales in October and November,'' said Yoshinoya spokeswoman Eiko Tanisawa. ``We don't know what we will set the price at afterwards.''
Zenshoku Co., Japan's first restaurant chains to use U.S. beef, wasn't available for comment.
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They must not of gotten Agman's message that the Japanese would scramble to get our beef or they wouldn't be wasting all that time and money. :wink:
By Kanoko Matsuyama
Sept. 27 (Bloomberg) -- The U.S. Meat Export Federation is running full page ads in Japanese newspapers that cost as much as 79 million yen ($681,000) each to convince consumers American beef is safe to eat. The biggest supermarket chains don't buy it.
Repairing the image of U.S. beef after it was banned in Japan because of mad cow disease has fallen to Philip Seng, the chief executive officer of the U.S. Meat Export group, which has Tyson Foods Inc. and Cargill Inc. among its members. He said in an interview the U.S. industry may have lost $5 billion since Japan first imposed the ban in December 2003.
The ad spending, along with barbecue events and a new website are part of Seng's strategy to convince Aeon Co. and Seven & I Holdings Co., Japan's two biggest supermarket chains, to put U.S. beef back on the shelves after the government lifted the ban in July. He says demand is growing and supply shortages are a problem.
``Japanese traders are interested in importing U.S. beef; the challenge is providing sustainable supply,'' Seng, 57, said at a news conference in Tokyo. ``The suppliers weren't ready for the market reopening.''
Japan banned American beef imports for two years, shutting out U.S. companies from their biggest market for the meat, worth $1.4 billion out of total exports of $3.8 billion in 2003. U.S. beef's image was not helped when Japan lifted the ban in December 2005 only to impose it again a month later for six months when animal material that can carry the disease was found in a shipment of veal.
Resistance
Mad-cow disease, also known as bovine spongiform encephalopathy, or BSE, is spread in cattle by tainted feed. Eating spinal tissue or brain parts of infected animals can cause a fatal human variant of the brain wasting disease that has been blamed for the deaths of 152 people in the U.K. Japan reported its 26th case of mad cow disease in May.
``We haven't decided to import U.S. beef,'' said Aeon's spokeswoman Kaori Watanabe. ``The government said it is safe now, yet we are now thinking of how to provide peace of mind to consumers.'' Seven & I Holdings spokesman Ichiro Tanaka said the company's decision ``not to import U.S. beef'' is unchanged.
About 700 tons of U.S. beef have passed through Japanese customs as of yesterday and 15,000 tons should be imported by the end of this year, said Seng, who is fluent in Japanese and was involved in talks to negotiate the original opening of Japan's beef market in 1988.
`Only a Beginning'
The U.S. Meat Export group will run a series of consumer and trade campaigns running up to Christmas and into spring 2007 to regain Japanese customers lost to Australian beef suppliers.
The group said the newspaper ads are ``only a beginning of the campaigns.'' Seng declined to say what his spending budget is.
Under the agreement with Japan, the U.S. only exports beef from cattle 20 months or younger, which are regarded as too young to have contracted the disease. Inspection costs and tariffs present another obstacle to Seng, prices.
``It's the fact that cattle price is higher, it's the fact that there's a paucity of cattle that are eligible for Japan that make cattle very, very dear,'' Seng said. ``The inspection procedures are a big portion of this but we also have a 38.5 percent import going into Japan. There's a 40 percent in Korea.''
Unlike Aeon and Seven & I, Costco Wholesale Japan Inc. and restaurant chain Yoshinoya D&C Co. have started selling U.S. beef.
Sold Out
Costco, a Japanese unit of the U.S. discount warehouse retailer, imported 5.1 tons of U.S. beef on Aug. 8. The company's Chief Executive Officer Mike Sinegal said it sold in the same price range as before the ban and sold well. Some products were sold out in a few days.
Yoshinoya, a Japanese restaurant chain operator specializing in beef served on rice, had the U.S. meat back on the menu for a day on Sept. 18, priced at 380 yen per bowl, 100 yen more than before the ban. The item sold out nationwide by 9 p.m., except for restaurants on the southern island of Kyushu, where a typhoon closed stores.
``Three hundred and eight yen is the price only for limited sales in October and November,'' said Yoshinoya spokeswoman Eiko Tanisawa. ``We don't know what we will set the price at afterwards.''
Zenshoku Co., Japan's first restaurant chains to use U.S. beef, wasn't available for comment.
-------------------------------
They must not of gotten Agman's message that the Japanese would scramble to get our beef or they wouldn't be wasting all that time and money. :wink: