The U.S. Meat Export Federation launched a campaign to repair the fallout tha...
The U.S. Meat Export Federation launched a campaign to repair the fallout that hit U.S. beef exports to America’s No. 1 market when a crisis of consumer confidence hammered beef demand following the discovery of Japan’s first case of bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE) in September 2001.
Now, in December 2002, USMEF invited representatives of some of its funding partners in that campaign to witness the work done by USMEF. Fifteen individuals representing six partners joined a team that visited Japan this month.
The team visited several supermarkets that sell U.S. beef and promote it under the auspices of USMEF, attended a briefing by agricultural staff at the U.S. embassy and ate Japanese dishes made with U.S. beef at different Tokyo restaurants. More importantly, team members learned about the current situation and USMEF predictions of the immediate future in this vital and volatile market.
In Tokyo, USMEF President & CEO Phil Seng gave the team details on current consumer trends:
- Japan imports more than 50 percent of its total food supply
- The average Japanese citizen reads three newspapers every day and is very well-informed on food safety and health issues
- In 2001, Japan bought 40 percent of U.S. beef exports
- The Japanese beef herd is declining at a rate of one percent every year. Cattle farm numbers have shrunk from 250,000 in 1989 to 100,000 in 2001
- Most beef in Japan (56 percent) is sold chilled
The team witnessed firsthand the escalating interest among U.S. and other suppliers in providing a system of traceability, inspired by Japanese trade and consumer pressure to show that livestock and meat has been produced and processed in a safe and hygienic manner. Traceability means tracing each product sold in supermarkets or restaurants back through every stage to the farm, the animal and even the animal’s parents. Several U.S. companies are looking at implementing traceability systems under their own brands. It is important for the U.S. industry to emphasize that U.S. beef is safe, but traceability in itself does not make any country’s beef safer. An important part of USMEF’s current campaign in Japan is to assure the trade and consumers that:
· Judicious use of compounds with responsible application have been exercised in the production of U.S. meat products; and
· Good Production Practices (GPP) and Good Manufacturing Practices (GMP) have been applied throughout the production and processing of U.S. animals and meat.
One of the most important aspects of exporting U.S. beef is the premium paid in export markets for items which sell for very little at home. The team learned that the main value-added beef items sold to Japan include:
Item Domestic Use Exports (mt) Export Premium
Tongue Pet food 37,000 $204 million
Short Plate Trim 150,000 $116 million
Outside Skirt Trim 28,000 $68 million
Chuck Ribs Trim 17,000 $41 million
Intestine Render 21,000 $33 million
Hanging Tender Trim 15,000 $10 million
TOTAL EXPORT PREMIUM: $472 million
A group photo of the team can be viewed at USMEF’s Web site at http://www.usmef.org/photoGallery/pics/02_Japan-Korea_BeefTradeTea.jpg. The 15 participants represented the following U.S. agriculture organizations: Nebraska Corn Promotion Board, Nebraska Beef Council, Missouri Beef Council, Kansas Corn Commission, Oklahoma Beef Council and Iowa Corn Promotion Board.
Other photos of the team visit are available at:
http://www.usmef.org/photoGallery/pics/PA13661151094.jpg,
http://www.usmef.org/photoGallery/pics/PA13661151088.jpg and
http://www.usmef.org/photoGallery/pics/PA136611510127.jpg
The U.S. shipped 252,685 mt of beef (including variety meats) to Japan in the first nine months of 2002, valued at $764.5 million.
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 --