Released: | September 5, 2001 | Subject: | BSE Crisis in Japan: One Year Late...

Published: Aug 29, 2003

Released:

September 5, 2001

Subject:

BSE Crisis in Japan: One Year Later

Interview with:

Philip Seng, USMEF President & CEO

For background:

A complete media kit is available at Japan Media Kit

Contact:

Lynn Heinze
303-623-6328
lheinze@usmef.org

Introduction: The following actualities were taken from a live media teleconference held September 4, 2002. Philip Seng, U.S. Meat Export Federation president and CEO, answered a number of questions about the USMEF effort to restore beef demand in Japan, our number one export market, after the discovery there last September of BSE in their domestic cattle herd. The following are excerpts from the one-hour-long teleconference.

Question 1: Mr. Seng, how well would you say your effort has worked?

(35 sec) – We started …… our forecast.

Question 2: While Japan was once one of the world’s strongest economies – is that still true?

(58 sec.) – Japan is now …… 10.8 percent.

Question 3: What about the meat business? How is it doing overall?

(27 sec.) – The retail …… of this year.

Question 4: Longer term, what do you see happening to our beef exports to Japan?

(16 sec.) – You’re going …… 2010.

Question 5: The USMEF effort has been characterized as a “woman-to-woman” campaign. Why is that?

(15 sec.) – They are the ones …… this whole campaign.

Question 6: You launched the campaign with American women who are part of the industry here. What are you doing now?

(30 sec.) – What we have done …… nutritional benefits.

Question 7: First there was BSE and then meat mislabeling. How are Japanese consumers reacting to these crises now?

(78 sec.) – The Japanese …… picking up on that.

Question 8: From the beginning, USMEF has tried to work with other exporting nations to restore confidence in the beef supply. Can you tell us why?

(53 sec.) – We try to stay …… will compete.

The U.S. Meat Export Federation is the trade association responsible for developing international markets for the U.S. red meat industry and is funded by USDA, exporting companies, and the beef, pork, corn, sorghum and soybean checkoff programs.

-- USMEF --