08/16/08 Restart Japan beef trade

Restart Japan Beef Trade July 27, 2006 brought some good news to U.S. cattlemen. I'm Jeff Keane; I'll be right back with some comments. On July 27, Japan announced it would resume importing U.S. beef. Exporting American beef to Japan has been an on off on and off situation since one dairy cow of Canadian origin tested positive for mad cow disease in December 2003. Well now it is on again, but it may be a while before we get back to the volume we shipped before 2003. Almost 920 million pounds of U.S. beef worth around $1.4 billion to our country's economy was sent to Japan annually. Jiro Kawasaki, Japan's Health minister states, "We strongly hope that the U.S. will ensure compliance with the export program." So there it is again, the beef industry's chance at a once great market. The last time we had this opportunity we failed. An exporter did not pay enough attention to a checklist of banned beef parts for export compliance and Japan was closed again to U.S. beef. In Japan recently, a box of banned roast beef was found in a shipment of turkey and pork products. This is too good a market for U.S. beef and the U.S. economy to take lightly. It is up to all of us to make sure all rules are met, including the age of cattle producers sell feeders and packers, packing plant guidelines, and export restrictions. Let's make it work this time. I'm Jeff Keane