Another Country Opens Markets
A Middle East country began accepting U.S. beef and beef product imports earlier this week, the American Meat Institute (AMI) reported. Oman, the second country in the region to lift its ban, imported more than $61,000 worth of U.S. beef prior to the nation’s December 2003 case of bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE).
Advancements in Japan, South Korea
During the past week, there have been important developments in the effort to get U.S. beef back into Japan, according to the National Cattlemen’s Beef Association (NCBA).
On May 6, Japan’s Food Safety Commission (FSC) endorsed an assessment of Japanese scientific experts that testing younger animals for BSE was not necessary. On May 11, NCBA reported, a food safety committee of Japan’s majority Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) approved the decision. The legislative action was necessary for deliberations on U.S. beef imports to proceed.
Japan’s FSC will also be taking up the export verification program, as developed by both governments, as the condition under which imports will resume.
In the meantime, a delegation of South Korean government officials and nongovernment organizations are in Colorado this week for meetings with U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) officials and a group of U.S. animal health and international trade experts to discuss resumption of U.S. beef trade with South Korea, NCBA noted. The U.S. delegation includes representatives from USDA’s Foreign Ag Service and Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS), the U.S. Meat Export Federation (USMEF), NCBA and Colorado State University.
NCBA Export Market Update
According to NCBA, the United States exported approximately $7.5 billion worth of beef, beef products, cattle and other ruminants and ruminant byproducts to 112 countries in 2003.
After the Dec. 23, 2003, discovery of a BSE-infected cow, however, $4.8 billion worth of those exports were banned. To date, USDA estimates that $1.9 billion of the $4.8 billion exports lost have been recovered. Of the 112 countries that bought U.S. beef in 2003:
• 57 countries are currently open. These markets represent 42% of the 2003 quantity and 37% of the 2003 value.
• 23 countries have not purchased U.S. beef products, but don’t have a stated ban. These markets represent 0.2% of the 2003 quantity and value.
• 32 countries remain closed. Japan and Korea represent $2.3 billion or 80% of the export business that still needs to be recovered.
Topic Site Updated
Angus Productions Inc. (API) has updated its Country-of-Origin Labeling topic site, located at www.countryoforiginlabeling.info. The site features links to other country-of-origin labeling (sometimes referred to as COOL or COL) resources, updated news information and a series of published articles pertaining to the labeling law, expected to take effect Sept. 30, 2006.
Recently added to the site are:
• additional links to labeling law sites;
• news releases; and
• published articles.
This site is one of a series of topic Web sites hosted by API to serve as gateways to information available on the Web. The topic site Angus International, at www.angusinternational.info, has also been updated.
For easy access to API topic sites, click the QuickFind button on the left navigation bar of www.angusjournal.com.
— compiled by Crystal Albers, Angus Productions Inc. assistant
