Missouri ready to trade beef to Japan

Japan announced Dec. 12 that the country would resume the importing of beef from the United States, provided it came from cows younger than 21 months that had been individually catalogued.

"We are very pleased the Japanese government announced today they are finally lifting their two-year ban on imports of U.S. beef," said Charles Kruse, president of the Missouri Farm Bureau, in a news release. “The loss of the Japanese market robbed the American cattle industry of substantial economic gains.”

Garrett Hawkins, director of national legislative programs for the Missouri Farm Bureau, said the restrictions Japan has placed on imported beef are more severe than those from other countries, but even with those restrictions, the reopening of a market that purchased $1.4 billion worth of U.S. beef in 2003 will definitely help, especially in Missouri.

“Missouri has a quality systems assessment program that the Missouri Department of Agriculture kicked off, essentially for beef to get into Japan,” Hawkins said. “Essentially our verification program means that 15,000 head of cattle are eligible to be imported to Japan, and we’re really the first state to be ready. It’s exciting that Missouri is on the forefront of meeting the demands of foreign customers.”

Click here for the full story from Dec. 26.