Monday, 23/01/2006
The United States has accepted the blame
for Japan's decision to reimpose its ban on beef imports.
Investigations are underway into a suspect
shipment of US beef that is thought to contain backbone, in breach
of Japanese guidelines to combat mad cow disease.
The US Agriculture Department swiftly
decommissioned the New York processing plant blamed for the
episode, and secretary Mike Johanns dispatched an inspection team
to Japan to re-examine all shipments awaiting approval to see if
they contained bone, brain or spinal tissue the US had agreed not
to export to Japan.
"This is an unacceptable failure on our
part to meet the requirements of our agreement with this trading
partner," he said. That, even though the bone was from beef under
20 months, Japan agreed to accept and unlikely to carry mad cow
disease.
It is uncertain how long the new ban will
last, but it is a huge setback for the US beef industry, which saw
the market partially reopen last month after a two year ban that
allowed Australia to dominate the market.
While Australia has benefited from the US
ban until now, Meat and Livestock Australia says exports could be
affected by this latest scare. Head of International Marketing
Hugh Amoyal, says consumers will ultimately decide whether beef
sales continue to boom.
"The bad news here is that Japanese
consumers are already quite sensitive about food safety in beef,
and the last thing we need is another food safety scare on what
is, you know, a safe product, and a real pity," he said. "So
we're all hoping it gets resolved fairly quickly and we can resume
trade and get back to normality as soon as possible."
US admits beef export a mistake
January 23, 2006 TOKYO: Reuters, Associated Press
America's deputy secretary of state Robert Zoellick admitted to
Japan's Agriculture Minister Shoichi Nakagawa, that a beef
shipment to Japan that resulted in a renewed ban on imports was an
"unacceptable mistake", a US Embassy official said.
Japan renewed a ban on US beef imports on Friday, just a month
after lifting it, following the discovery of spinal material,
which it insists be removed to reduce the risk of mad cow disease.
Mr Zoellick, who met Mr Nakagawa for about an hour in Tokyo
yesterday, also expressed deep regret, the official said. "The US
has a commitment to Japan regarding beef exports and that is a
commitment that we take seriously," Mr Zoellick was quoted as
saying.
US meat inspectors were last night on their way to Japan to
check US beef shipments.
The problem is the discovery of bone, a mad cow disease risk,
in a shipment of veal from a plant in New York. Restrictions
against bone in beef shipments have remained in Asia because
officials fear marrow and other bone tissue might be dangerous.
The US Agriculture Secretary, Mike Johanns, who ordered
unannounced inspections at US beef processing plants, called the
problem "an unacceptable failure" to meet Japan's requirements.
Japan's discovery was a big setback for the US meat industry
and the Bush Administration, both of which had been optimistic
about the prospects of selling more beef in Asia despite lingering
restrictions on US products.
The Japanese Prime Minister, Junichiro Koizumi, said the
situation was "a pity given that imports had just resumed" after a
two-year break.
http://smh.com.au/news/world/us-admits-beef-export-a-mistake/2006/01/22/1137864809648.html
From: AAP January 23, 2006
MAD cow fears among Japanese meat-eaters over US
imports might also turn them off Australian beef, cattle producers
said today. A ban on US beef imports was reinstated in Japan on
Friday after animal material considered a mad cow disease risk was
discovered in a shipment of veal from New York.
Japan's Agriculture Minister, Shoichi Nakagawa,
said there was the possibility that material from cattle spinal
cords was included in beef imported from the US.
Australian cattle producers had a 90-per-cent
market share in Japan as a result of the ban on US beef imports in
place since 2003. The lifting of that ban in December was likely
to put a dent in Australia's dominance. Beef producers now fear
they may lose consumers altogether as a result of new mad cow
fears.
"(Japan has) obviously been
satisfied with our supplies," Cattle Council of Australia (CCA)
president Bill Bray said. "That confidence has been eroded now,"
he said. "My concern is the reaction from the Japanese consumer
regarding the quality of beef is further eroded."
Mr Bray said he did not think Australian beef
sales in Japan would pick up as a result of the ban. "I don't
think there will be a net positive effect for Australia's
producers," he said.
Industry marketing body Meat and Livestock
Australia (MLA) said the ban would keep prices high in the
short-term, but turn consumers away in the future.
"In the short-term, it's likely to prolong the
period of high prices and demand for the product from Japan, but
certainly in the long-term it's not good to have ... disruption to
world trade," MLA market analyst Peter Weeks said. "It's basically
just driving consumers away from beef."
In December, Japan lifted the two-year ban on
the importation of US and Canadian beef imposed after mad cow
disease was found in those countries.
Australia remains free of the brain-wasting
cattle disease, bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE).
There also have been reports today that cattle
parts are being illegally smuggled into Malaysia as a result of a
ban on offal from New Zealand and Australia. Malaysia restricted
imports from Australia after some cattle farms failed to meet
Muslim regulations for "halal" meat – cattle slaughtered according
to Islamic rites.
http://finance.news.com.au/story/0,10166,17910508-31037,00.html