Japan lifting beef ban
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mnmtranching
Well-known member
I didn't hear, When does it go into effect.
Its good news for cattlemen, our #1 customer before BSE. About 2. 5 billion worth. Now if Korea opens it should add about 5$ or so per hundred for kill cattle.
mnmt
Its good news for cattlemen, our #1 customer before BSE. About 2. 5 billion worth. Now if Korea opens it should add about 5$ or so per hundred for kill cattle.
mnmt
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farmwife
Well-known member
Not sure when it starts, but here is a little information that I received via email after I started the thread.
Japan again lifts ban on U.S. beef
by Bill McDowell on 7/27/2006 for Meatingplace.com
As expected, Japan announced early Thursday that it would once again resume importing some U.S. beef, ending a nearly 28-month standoff that effectively shut down one of the U.S. industry's largest export markets.
Under the agreement, the Japanese will only accept shipments of beef from cattle 20 months or younger from a list of 34 approved processing plants. Certification of the plants came following a month-long tour by a Japanese Agriculture Ministry advisory committee of 35 U.S. plants to ensure they met required safeguards against bovine spongiform encephalopathy.
Although trade briefly resumed in December 2005, it shut again the following month, following discovery of a shipment of veal containing specified risk materials.
At a news conference, Japan's Health Minister Jiro Kawasaki said the committee found no problems at 20 of the 35 facilities and that an additional 13 had made sufficient improvements to become eligible. One plant remains under provisional surveillance and one will remain forbidden from exporting to Japan. There are no plans in place to add additional plants to roster, he told reporters.
Kawasaki said the Health Ministry will continue to monitor the efficacy of the export verification program over the next six months.
In a statement, U.S. Agriculture Secretary Mike Johanns welcomed the news. "This has been a long process as we've confirmed that our system is in full compliance with Japan's import requirements and provided Japan with clear, scientific data confirming that American beef is extremely safe. It is gratifying to know that these efforts paid-off, as did the patience demonstrated by Congress," he said.
But Johanns also added a slightly barbed comment taking Japan to task for abruptly shuttering the border for a second time in January.
"Nations need reasonable methods of addressing the inadvertent shipment of products that don't meet an importing country's specifications, without disrupting an entire trading relationship," he said. "The U.S. has such methods of addressing noncompliant shipments from Japan, as well as our other trading partners, and I am hopeful that going forward Japan will take a similar approach."
Japan again lifts ban on U.S. beef
by Bill McDowell on 7/27/2006 for Meatingplace.com
As expected, Japan announced early Thursday that it would once again resume importing some U.S. beef, ending a nearly 28-month standoff that effectively shut down one of the U.S. industry's largest export markets.
Under the agreement, the Japanese will only accept shipments of beef from cattle 20 months or younger from a list of 34 approved processing plants. Certification of the plants came following a month-long tour by a Japanese Agriculture Ministry advisory committee of 35 U.S. plants to ensure they met required safeguards against bovine spongiform encephalopathy.
Although trade briefly resumed in December 2005, it shut again the following month, following discovery of a shipment of veal containing specified risk materials.
At a news conference, Japan's Health Minister Jiro Kawasaki said the committee found no problems at 20 of the 35 facilities and that an additional 13 had made sufficient improvements to become eligible. One plant remains under provisional surveillance and one will remain forbidden from exporting to Japan. There are no plans in place to add additional plants to roster, he told reporters.
Kawasaki said the Health Ministry will continue to monitor the efficacy of the export verification program over the next six months.
In a statement, U.S. Agriculture Secretary Mike Johanns welcomed the news. "This has been a long process as we've confirmed that our system is in full compliance with Japan's import requirements and provided Japan with clear, scientific data confirming that American beef is extremely safe. It is gratifying to know that these efforts paid-off, as did the patience demonstrated by Congress," he said.
But Johanns also added a slightly barbed comment taking Japan to task for abruptly shuttering the border for a second time in January.
"Nations need reasonable methods of addressing the inadvertent shipment of products that don't meet an importing country's specifications, without disrupting an entire trading relationship," he said. "The U.S. has such methods of addressing noncompliant shipments from Japan, as well as our other trading partners, and I am hopeful that going forward Japan will take a similar approach."
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farmwife
Well-known member
Here's another article at lifting the beef ban:
USDA: Japan has accepted U.S. beef system, Korea still has concerns
by Pete Hisey on 7/28/2006 for Meatingplace.com
Japan's decision Thursday to reopen its market to U.S. beef contained one exception: An unnamed plant that had recently been purchased by a larger processor is temporarily excluded from the agreement.
According to Ed Loyd, a spokesman for USDA, the decision to defer that plant's ability to export was made in consultation among all parties, and was made because the plant in question is in the process of hiring key export personnel. "There is no critical issue involved," Loyd said. "The plant just needs time to adjust its leadership."
That plant was identified by Reuters as Brawley, Calif.-based Brawley Beef, which was recently purchased by National Beef Inc. A plant placed under close observation by USDA was identified as an American Foods Group facility in Green Bay, Wis., which in the past had shipped beef to Japan from cattle slaughtered before the plant was approved as an exporter by USDA.
Agriculture Secretary Mike Johanns recently told South Korea that it must accept all USDA-approved U.S. plants, or accept none, and the deal with Japan appears to violate that "all-or-none" rule. Loyd pointed out, however, that Japan is not asking for changes in U.S. procedures, while South Korea has demanded that all tools used in the slaughter of cattle over 30 months of age be segregated from tools used in the slaughter of younger cattle. The United States has asked that Seoul accept its sanitation standards for slaughter tools to prevent possible contamination.
"Japan has accepted our system while Korea has not," Loyd said. "We are basing our decisions on the merits of U.S. food safety in our plants, whether they export or not."
In other words, the beef plant's permission to export is deferred because it violates U.S. export rules, not because it violates Japan's rules.
Loyd points out that the issue of segregating Canadian cattle from U.S. cattle in slaughter facilities is not a request for changes in U.S. procedures. "We will do that once Korea opens to U.S. beef," he said. "It only became an issue because when their inspectors visited plants last month, they expected [the segregation] to already be in place."
Lynn Heinze, a spokesman for the U.S. Meat Export Federation, notes that many plants had been segregating cattle and products meant for export to South Korea before the market closed. "Most of them ran all their Canadian cattle through on one shift, then had a full clean-up before processing U.S. cattle," he said. "It's only a matter of reinstating the process." Some plants that have not exported to Korea in the past may have to submit segregation plans to gain export approval, he said.
There is no timetable for an agreement, Loyd said, but "we hope to reach a resolution soon." Korea had agreed in principle to accept U.S. beef back in January, but has dragged its feet in negotiations since.
USDA: Japan has accepted U.S. beef system, Korea still has concerns
by Pete Hisey on 7/28/2006 for Meatingplace.com
Japan's decision Thursday to reopen its market to U.S. beef contained one exception: An unnamed plant that had recently been purchased by a larger processor is temporarily excluded from the agreement.
According to Ed Loyd, a spokesman for USDA, the decision to defer that plant's ability to export was made in consultation among all parties, and was made because the plant in question is in the process of hiring key export personnel. "There is no critical issue involved," Loyd said. "The plant just needs time to adjust its leadership."
That plant was identified by Reuters as Brawley, Calif.-based Brawley Beef, which was recently purchased by National Beef Inc. A plant placed under close observation by USDA was identified as an American Foods Group facility in Green Bay, Wis., which in the past had shipped beef to Japan from cattle slaughtered before the plant was approved as an exporter by USDA.
Agriculture Secretary Mike Johanns recently told South Korea that it must accept all USDA-approved U.S. plants, or accept none, and the deal with Japan appears to violate that "all-or-none" rule. Loyd pointed out, however, that Japan is not asking for changes in U.S. procedures, while South Korea has demanded that all tools used in the slaughter of cattle over 30 months of age be segregated from tools used in the slaughter of younger cattle. The United States has asked that Seoul accept its sanitation standards for slaughter tools to prevent possible contamination.
"Japan has accepted our system while Korea has not," Loyd said. "We are basing our decisions on the merits of U.S. food safety in our plants, whether they export or not."
In other words, the beef plant's permission to export is deferred because it violates U.S. export rules, not because it violates Japan's rules.
Loyd points out that the issue of segregating Canadian cattle from U.S. cattle in slaughter facilities is not a request for changes in U.S. procedures. "We will do that once Korea opens to U.S. beef," he said. "It only became an issue because when their inspectors visited plants last month, they expected [the segregation] to already be in place."
Lynn Heinze, a spokesman for the U.S. Meat Export Federation, notes that many plants had been segregating cattle and products meant for export to South Korea before the market closed. "Most of them ran all their Canadian cattle through on one shift, then had a full clean-up before processing U.S. cattle," he said. "It's only a matter of reinstating the process." Some plants that have not exported to Korea in the past may have to submit segregation plans to gain export approval, he said.
There is no timetable for an agreement, Loyd said, but "we hope to reach a resolution soon." Korea had agreed in principle to accept U.S. beef back in January, but has dragged its feet in negotiations since.
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farmwife
Well-known member
This is pretty interesting --
Industry reacts with cautious optimism to Japan beef deal
by Pete Hisey on 7/28/2006 for Meatingplace.com
It may take years to regain the market share the U.S. enjoyed in Japan in 2003, when $1.4 billion in U.S. beef was shipped to Japan, but the American beef industry is still grateful to get the market open again, if on a limited basis.
J. Patrick Boyle, chief executive of the American Meat Institute, called the agreement announced Thursday "a good first step, but it's a very restrictive reopening. It is restricted to cattle under 20 months of age, and there's absolutely no scientific basis for that restriction."
Boyle pointed out that although the majority of cattle slaughtered in the United States are between 18 and 22 months of age, "the vast majority have no birth records to provide proof of their age, so we will be extremely limited in the amount of beef we can export, at least for now."
Since birth records and a rating of A-40 in the tenderness scale as determined by visual observation of the carcass by trained graders of meat are the only two methods acceptable to Japan for ascertaining age accurately, only 30 percent to 35 percent of U.S. cattle are even eligible for export, Boyle says. About 10 percent to 15 percent of cattle receive a grade of A-40 or better.
A marketing challenge
Further consultations are scheduled for this fall, during which the United States will press to allow beef from cattle up to 30 months in age into the export program, but Boyle said that it will be a long process to expand the program.
Philip M. Seng, chief executive of the U.S. Meat Export Federation, said that "our beef is now one of the most scrutinized foods ever to be imported into Japan. We look forward to winning back the confidence of the many Japanese companies and individuals who have both relied on and enjoyed our products for nearly three decades."
Regaining market share may be difficult, and USMEF has a full promotional program in place, including demonstrations, seminars, in-store promotions and a full publicity campaign based on a bright red "We Care" logo and a "We Care Promise" program for retailers and foodservice operators.
"This is going to be a marketing opportunity, and I am sure our meat industry can meet the challenge," said AMI's Boyle.
No veal for now
None of the 35 plants that applied for export clearance plan to export veal, and there will be a six-month moratorium on approval of new exporters, so there won't be a repeat of the veal shipment that cut off the Japanese market less than a month after it had reopened last December.
Japan has not promised in writing that its market will not snap shut at the first technical violation of the trade agreement, but according to AMI's Boyle, "U.S. negotiators have assured us that the Japanese authorities have promised that there will be a proportionate response to any violation. I would hope that means that the affected product would be discarded, and that repeated violations from a single plant would mean that action would be taken against that plant," not the entire export industry.
Exporters will have a chance to hit the ground running, as the estimated one million metric tons of beef that was stranded at customs in Japan when the market closed in January will not be allowed into the country for three months after the border reopens, according to USMEF spokesman Lynn Heinze. That meat, which has been frozen for several months, will be reinspected by Japanese authorities before it is cleared for import, but should still be of high enough quality for sale.
Industry reacts with cautious optimism to Japan beef deal
by Pete Hisey on 7/28/2006 for Meatingplace.com
It may take years to regain the market share the U.S. enjoyed in Japan in 2003, when $1.4 billion in U.S. beef was shipped to Japan, but the American beef industry is still grateful to get the market open again, if on a limited basis.
J. Patrick Boyle, chief executive of the American Meat Institute, called the agreement announced Thursday "a good first step, but it's a very restrictive reopening. It is restricted to cattle under 20 months of age, and there's absolutely no scientific basis for that restriction."
Boyle pointed out that although the majority of cattle slaughtered in the United States are between 18 and 22 months of age, "the vast majority have no birth records to provide proof of their age, so we will be extremely limited in the amount of beef we can export, at least for now."
Since birth records and a rating of A-40 in the tenderness scale as determined by visual observation of the carcass by trained graders of meat are the only two methods acceptable to Japan for ascertaining age accurately, only 30 percent to 35 percent of U.S. cattle are even eligible for export, Boyle says. About 10 percent to 15 percent of cattle receive a grade of A-40 or better.
A marketing challenge
Further consultations are scheduled for this fall, during which the United States will press to allow beef from cattle up to 30 months in age into the export program, but Boyle said that it will be a long process to expand the program.
Philip M. Seng, chief executive of the U.S. Meat Export Federation, said that "our beef is now one of the most scrutinized foods ever to be imported into Japan. We look forward to winning back the confidence of the many Japanese companies and individuals who have both relied on and enjoyed our products for nearly three decades."
Regaining market share may be difficult, and USMEF has a full promotional program in place, including demonstrations, seminars, in-store promotions and a full publicity campaign based on a bright red "We Care" logo and a "We Care Promise" program for retailers and foodservice operators.
"This is going to be a marketing opportunity, and I am sure our meat industry can meet the challenge," said AMI's Boyle.
No veal for now
None of the 35 plants that applied for export clearance plan to export veal, and there will be a six-month moratorium on approval of new exporters, so there won't be a repeat of the veal shipment that cut off the Japanese market less than a month after it had reopened last December.
Japan has not promised in writing that its market will not snap shut at the first technical violation of the trade agreement, but according to AMI's Boyle, "U.S. negotiators have assured us that the Japanese authorities have promised that there will be a proportionate response to any violation. I would hope that means that the affected product would be discarded, and that repeated violations from a single plant would mean that action would be taken against that plant," not the entire export industry.
Exporters will have a chance to hit the ground running, as the estimated one million metric tons of beef that was stranded at customs in Japan when the market closed in January will not be allowed into the country for three months after the border reopens, according to USMEF spokesman Lynn Heinze. That meat, which has been frozen for several months, will be reinspected by Japanese authorities before it is cleared for import, but should still be of high enough quality for sale.
