01/06/06 Beef to Japan

Beef to Japan Today I have to give out a thank you to some people that had a tough assignment. I'm Jeff Keane; I'll be back with that thank you right after this. I'm sure everyone by now knows that U.S. beef is back on Japan's import list and available for Japanese consumer market. This is where I have to say a big thank you to all the officials that worked to get U.S. beef back into the Japanese market channels. This includes negotiators from the day to day trade experts that had the down-in-the trench work to President Bush, Secretary of State Rice and members of Congress who reminded Japanese officials of the expansive U.S. Japanese trade agreements and commitments of both nations. These people worked diligently through the diplomatic process with way more knowledge and patience than I was feeling about the whole affair. While we have a long way to go to get back the market share we once had with Japan we now have a great starting point. U.S. beef is in Japan and with good promotion efforts and our consistent high quality beef that the Japanese consumer grew to know and will remember we should increase that market share quickly. Some of the trade guidelines are different than they were before Japan banned our beef but we have beef that will fit the new criteria and satisfy Japanese officials and consumers. Re-opening the Japanese market should also pave the way to open other markets closed to the United States beef industry the last two years. Some of these countries use many of the cuts not so popular in the United States that are a big income source for our beef industry. I'm Jeff Keane.