Export Market Not Rattled By BSE
Good news regarding our export market in response to one California dairy cow and BSE. I’m Susan Allen, this is the Open Range Report please stay tuned.So far only one country, Indonesia has taken measures to block imports of U.S. beef in response to learning that one dairy cow in California tested positive for BSE. Apparently Thailand could be next having publically stated their intent to follow Indonesia but as of last week had yet to notify US authorities. South Korea is now inspecting half of all U.S. imported beef compared to its typical three percent but there are retailers who have stopped carrying US beef. In a recent interview Meat Export Federation president and CEO Phil Seng noted that the Korean press is using the BSE incident to “stir up emotional responses”. When the Tsunami hit Japan US beef producers rallied to ensure the Japanese especially the elderly had enough protein and I wonder if that impacted Japan’s positive response, to the point of the government announcing they would not make any changes in US beef imports policy. According to Seng the international response to this latest BSE case has been starkly different from what transpired back in 2003 when US beef became banned . It is critical for US ranchers that international consumers have confidence in our beef, as I speak the US Meat Export Federation along with USDA”S Foreign Market Development Program and the Beef Ceckoff is working to educated the international media not only about the safety of our beef but how all the safeguards we have in place worked.
