US Beef Sales May Fall Short Amid A Japan Border Reopening
KANSAS CITY (Dow Jones)--U.S. beef marketers and analysts say a trade deal with Japan that reopens its markets to U.S. beef products would be good for the U.S. industry, but the volume of sales probably wouldn't be large.
Trade sources who spoke with Dow Jones said consumer demand has shifted since Japanese officials halted further U.S. beef imports in January after a shipment of veal was found with spinal bone pieces attatched. Surveys show a significant percentage of consumers no longer want U.S. beef, and winning the market back will take time and effort, the said.
Even the U.S. Meat Export Federation, the organization devoted to marketing U.S. meat products abroad, has modest hopes.
Assuming the first shipments leave U.S. shores on Aug. 1, USMEF economists project only 25,000 to 30,000 metric tons of product will ship in 2006, said Cheryl Kamenski, manager of media communications for the USMEF.
For comparison, a chart on the USMEF Web site lists U.S. beef and beef variety meat exports to Japan in 2002 at 332,204 metric tons, with a value of $1.028 billion.
Kamenski said the products sold initially are likely to be a mix of beef variety meats destined for retail sale and steak products going to the restaurant trade.
The USMEF is keeping its estimate of initial beef trade low because Japan has said it planned to inspect every box of U.S. product it imports to make sure it all meets the trade-agreement guidelines, and the added cost could discourage trade, Kamenski said.
Source: Lester Aldrich, Dow Jones Newswires; 913-322-5179;
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