Asia PacificInt'l Guidelines, Science to Determine U.S. Beef ImportReopening...

Asia Pacific
Int'l Guidelines, Science to Determine U.S. Beef Import
Reopening South Korea's market to U.S. beef will be determined by internationally accepted standards and scientific facts, Agriculture Minister Park Hong-soo said Wednesday.

South Korea says resumption of U.S. beef imports possible
The United States has addressed problems at some of its slaughterhouses designated to process meat bound for South Korea, clearing a key hurdle for Seoul to resume American beef imports, a South Korean official said.

Japan's Yoshinoya revives beef bowl with U.S. meat
Japanese fast-food chain Yoshinoya D&C Co. Ltd. , the firm most battered by Japan's former ban on U.S. beef, is taking a first step towards resuming sales of its famed beef bowls - serving them for one day this month.

Hunger for U.S. beef exceeds expectation
Consumer demand for U.S. beef is so high that Japanese retailers are running short of supplies, with one popular restaurant chain planning to ration beef to its customers.

Oceania
New Zealand rural confidence hits two-year high
New Zealand farmers continue to view the 12-month outlook for the New Zealand economy very differently from city-based business people. Where business confidence is at low levels, farmers are the most optimistic about the rural economy since October 2004.

Australian Beef Exports Up In August
Australia exported 84,185 metric tons of beef and veal in August--six percent higher than in August 2005, according to statistics released by Australia’s Department of Agriculture, Fisheries, and Forestry. For the first eight months of 2006, beef and veal shipments were down two percent compared to the first two months of 2005 -- to 605,271 metric tons.

Europe
Russia might freeze WTO accession talks with U.S.-Kremlin aide
If no progress is made at Russian-U.S. WTO accession negotiations in the foreseeable future, Moscow could put them on hold, a Putin aide said Tuesday.

Food scares in the EU since the mad cow crisis
Rotten meat with illegally altered sell-by dates may have been sold in recent weeks by a German company to consumers in eight other European Union countries as far apart as Denmark and Italy, the EU executive said on Wednesday.

German Meat Distributor Hangs Himself
As the scandal over out-of-date meat in Germany widens, the main suspect, a Munich wholesaler, has committed suicide. Meanwhile a political row has erupted over food quality control in a country that lives on sausages and Schnitzel.

Sale of Bulgarian pork could be prohibited with EU accession
The sale of Bulgarian pig meat could soon be prohibited unless the government can prove it is successfully tackling increased outbreaks of Classical Swine fever (CSF) in the country, according to a new USDA report.

United States
BSE-Induced Beef Trade Ban Still Haunts U.S. Market
A Kansas  State Universitystudy shows it may take a few years to recover from the effects of Japan's and South Korea's boycotts of U.S. beef. 

Asia Pacific
Int'l Guidelines, Science to Determine U.S. Beef Import
Reopening South Korea's market to U.S. beef will be determined by internationally accepted standards and scientific facts, Agriculture Minister Park Hong-soo said Wednesday.

South Korea says resumption of U.S. beef imports possible
The United States has addressed problems at some of its slaughterhouses designated to process meat bound for South Korea, clearing a key hurdle for Seoul to resume American beef imports, a South Korean official said.

Japan's Yoshinoya revives beef bowl with U.S. meat
Japanese fast-food chain Yoshinoya D&C Co. Ltd. , the firm most battered by Japan's former ban on U.S. beef, is taking a first step towards resuming sales of its famed beef bowls - serving them for one day this month.

Hunger for U.S. beef exceeds expectation
Consumer demand for U.S. beef is so high that Japanese retailers are running short of supplies, with one popular restaurant chain planning to ration beef to its customers.

Oceania
New Zealand rural confidence hits two-year high
New Zealand farmers continue to view the 12-month outlook for the New Zealand economy very differently from city-based business people. Where business confidence is at low levels, farmers are the most optimistic about the rural economy since October 2004.

Australian Beef Exports Up In August
Australia exported 84,185 metric tons of beef and veal in August--six percent higher than in August 2005, according to statistics released by Australia’s Department of Agriculture, Fisheries, and Forestry. For the first eight months of 2006, beef and veal shipments were down two percent compared to the first two months of 2005 -- to 605,271 metric tons.

Europe
Russia might freeze WTO accession talks with U.S.-Kremlin aide
If no progress is made at Russian-U.S. WTO accession negotiations in the foreseeable future, Moscow could put them on hold, a Putin aide said Tuesday.

Food scares in the EU since the mad cow crisis
Rotten meat with illegally altered sell-by dates may have been sold in recent weeks by a German company to consumers in eight other European Union countries as far apart as Denmark and Italy, the EU executive said on Wednesday.

German Meat Distributor Hangs Himself
As the scandal over out-of-date meat in Germany widens, the main suspect, a Munich wholesaler, has committed suicide. Meanwhile a political row has erupted over food quality control in a country that lives on sausages and Schnitzel.

Sale of Bulgarian pork could be prohibited with EU accession
The sale of Bulgarian pig meat could soon be prohibited unless the government can prove it is successfully tackling increased outbreaks of Classical Swine fever (CSF) in the country, according to a new USDA report.

United States
BSE-Induced Beef Trade Ban Still Haunts U.S. Market
A Kansas  State Universitystudy shows it may take a few years to recover from the effects of Japan's and South Korea's boycotts of U.S. beef.