business

U.S. to resume beef imports from Japan after two-year ban

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I won't go into any details (it will be deleted by moderators), but you won't believe how much the Japanese Yakuza is involved in the beef import business. The Yakuza and politicians are like the heads and tails of a coin. They're inseparable.

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YubaruAug. 06, 2012 - 01:04PM JST

I disagree with this, Japanese already eat the same or similar cuts that American producers would export. The size of the cut however is much smaller. You can get many of the same cuts from a butcher here if you are willing to pay the price. NY Strip steaks, T-bones, roasts, tenderloins, even Prime Rib, and filet cuts.

Not a single Japanese person I know has never gone for a western cut. They all stick to their Japanified hamburgers or go for a pork cut instead. Even those I've seen outside the country, tend to stick to more marble fatty cuts and generally dislike the stringy texture of a good prime rib. In the stores in my area (Hokkaido, where there are more livestock than anywhere else in Japan), you simply cannot find western cuts. Butchers cuts here are different than western cuts, due to a difference in pallet.

Which would benefit who? The consumer of course, and make beef more readily available to the average consumer.

Benefits restaurants, mass manufacturers, supermarkets, and direct consumers. At the same time, it doesn't really harm growers since the meet is different.

No, not if the Japanese would allow free trade, which they wont, because they are afraid of hurting their domestic producers.

You really think some old people in the middle of nowhere actually understand global economics enough to know if it would hurt them or not? No, they protest what they don't know, and the government blindly listens to them. Prices are artificially high, but even if the prices somehow dropped (which they wouldn't by much), the small scale producers would still make a killing (offering "higher quality" beef), an large scale producers could simply invest in American farms and import for even more profit than they make now.

Of course, that is all ignoring the secondary effects like increased trade in other sectors as tariffs and quotas are reduced both ways. Japan has a track record of ignoring the big picture in favor of making tiny details "perfect', and hopefully they will learn the difference before it's too late.

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Techall

Your right my mistake, my mistake

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Cletus: I think you misunderstood. The Japanese resumed importing U.S. beef quite a while ago, subject to testing of every animal from which the meat is destined for Japan (the only country that requires this, but it's their law so....c'est la vie).

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Well thats interesting considering our local supermarket has been selling beef labeled "US BEEF" for the past year and a half. So if there has been a ban on the US beef then l wonder how a local supermarket can sell US beef already?

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Japanese don't like American cuts,

I disagree with this, Japanese already eat the same or similar cuts that American producers would export. The size of the cut however is much smaller. You can get many of the same cuts from a butcher here if you are willing to pay the price. NY Strip steaks, T-bones, roasts, tenderloins, even Prime Rib, and filet cuts.

If they were able to double the imports overall, 500000 tons from both Australia and USA, you could see meat prices fall several times over, to a level not much higher than pork.

Which would benefit who? The consumer of course, and make beef more readily available to the average consumer.

You mean in favor of Japan because high end products move more money for less product. Profits for each cow would be very high.

No, not if the Japanese would allow free trade, which they wont, because they are afraid of hurting their domestic producers.

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YubaruAug. 06, 2012 - 10:44AM JST

Japanese beef in the US is for higher end markets and there would be a MAJOR trade unbalance, in favor of the USA, because US beef would fit into the everyday market here.

You mean in favor of Japan because high end products move more money for less product. Profits for each cow would be very high.

There most definitely IS NOT plenty of beef here in Japan. It's way over-priced and to my palate the Japanese beef is only good for yaki niku, or shabu shabu. There is no way I want to pay literally hundreds of dollars for a nice T-Bone steak that I can pop on the grill here. Japanese beef just wont cut it.

Japanese don't like American cuts, which is why they were able to ban imports over a single Canadian cow found in the US. Hence your t-bone is beyond expensive. If they were able to double the imports overall, 500000 tons from both Australia and USA, you could see meat prices fall several times over, to a level not much higher than pork.

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Why? There apparently is plenty of beef in both countries. The ranch in northern California used to produce beef for Japan, but now sells it for more in Las Vegas and New York.

Japanese beef in the US is for higher end markets and there would be a MAJOR trade unbalance, in favor of the USA, because US beef would fit into the everyday market here.

There most definitely IS NOT plenty of beef here in Japan. It's way over-priced and to my palate the Japanese beef is only good for yaki niku, or shabu shabu. There is no way I want to pay literally hundreds of dollars for a nice T-Bone steak that I can pop on the grill here. Japanese beef just wont cut it.

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Why? There apparently is plenty of beef in both countries. The ranch in northern California used to produce beef for Japan, but now sells it for more in Las Vegas and New York.

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I couldn't have said it better! 100% agreed!

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Personally speaking here I wish both the US and Japan would open their markets up more in regards to imports of beef.

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