970817 Pork Stockpile Helped Slow US Exports to Japan
August 2, 1997
U.S. pork sales to Japan may rise slightly in August, but so far in 1997 pork sales to that country are down from a year ago, said a U.S. Meat Export Federation offical.
"There has been sluggishness in the market in Japan, I think everybody recognizes that both in the beef and pork, and I would attribute a lot of that to the food safety concerns that have been pervasive in Japan over the course of the past year," said Phil Seng, chief executive officer of USMEF.
Deaths and illnesses throughout Japan from E.coli bacteria in food created widespread concerns about food safety, he said.
Seng was in Reno attending the National Cattlemen's Beef Association summer meeting.
In August, U.S. pork exports may rise slightly because Japan will waive for one month a 4.7 percent import duty on pork, Seng said. But a one month waiver may be too short to significantly improve sales.
``One month is not long enough for us to book the product, get it on the water and get it into Japan," he said.
U.S. meat industry officials had been optimistic Japan would buy more U.S. pork when foot and mouth disease swept through Taiwan's hog herd. But in the first half of 1997, U.S. pork exports to Japan were down from a year ago.
In addition to a sluggish Japanese economy and the E.coli outbreak, Seng said Japan had stockpiled 120,000 to 160,000 tonnes of pork, which lessened the need to import.
One bright spot for U.S. pork exports was chilled pork, which had first half sales to Japan equal to a year ago. It was sales of frozen pork that were off sharply, Seng said.
U.S. pork exports from January to June were down 42 percent from a year ago at 52,500 tonnes versus 91,000 in 1996, but chilled pork sales were unchanged at 41,000 tonnes, he said.
Also, the USMEF in September will launch a chilled pork promotion program in Japanese supermarkets.
This Article Compliments of...
Press for Information on Placing Your Ad Here
Meat Industry Insights News Service
P.O. Box 553
Northport, NY 11768
Phone: 631-757-4010
Fax: 631-757-4060
E-mail: sflanagan@sprintmail.com
Web Site: http://www.spcnetwork.com/mii