Go to the mobile version of this Web site.

Login | Contact Us | Site Map | Paid archives | Electronic edition | Subscription Questions | Extras

Beef industry happy but wary

Roger Fillion, Rocky Mountain News

Published June 22, 2006 at midnight

Text size  

More More Business

More stories »

Show me the beef!

Colorado beef industry and government officials were encouraged that Japan said Wednesday it will resume importing U.S. beef.

But officials here cautioned they first want to see U.S. beef getting served to Japanese consumers.

"We are excited and encouraged," said Bill Hammerich, CEO of the Colorado Livestock Association in Greeley.

However, he added, "Until it's actually appearing on the plates of Japanese consumers, there's going to be an undertone of skepticism on the part of the beef industry in the United States."

Japan is one of Colorado's largest markets for overseas beef shipments. It ranked No. 2, behind Mexico, in 2003.

The agreement is expected to reopen the largest overseas market for American ranchers. It was closed in December 2003 after the discovery of a case of mad cow disease in Washington state.

Japan resumed imports last December but then shut its market again a few weeks later when an exporter based in Brooklyn, N.Y., included parts of a backbone in a shipment. Spinal cords, brains and surrounding body parts were banned under the December agreement.

Japan agreed Wednesday to lift the ban, pending inspections of U.S. plants.

"The Japanese market traditionally has been one of our strongest markets," said Tim Larsen, senior international marketing specialist for the Colorado Department of Agriculture. "And we're anxious for it to open up again."

Larsen said that before Japan's ban on U.S. beef imports, Colorado shipped about $100 million a year of beef to the Asian nation. Japan's market for the U.S. was worth $1.4 billion annually before the ban on imports.

Larsen said it won't be easy for U.S. beef exports to penetrate the Japanese market once they do resume.

He said the U.S. beef industry will have to regain the trust of Japanese consumers. Also, he said, Australia has moved aggressively to fill the void left by the U.S. import ban.

Sen. Wayne Allard - who has pushed the Japanese to resume imports of U.S. beef - called Japan's announcement "a step in the right direction."

The Colorado Republican added, "I won't be satisfied until the people of Japan are eating U.S. beef."

Congresswoman Marilyn Musgrave, R-Colo., echoed Allard's statement while noting that Japan's announcement won't lead to an immediate resumption of shipments.

or 303-892-2467