| FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE | CONTACT: Ron Zellar |
| October 24, 2005 | (406) 444-3144 TTY (406) 444-4687 |
Japanese consumers voice support for U.S. beef
HELENA, Mont. — Although a Japanese panel this week delayed a recommendation on resuming imports of U.S. beef, consumers who visited with a Montana trade delegation in Japan indicated they are eager to see U.S. meat products back in their stores and restaurants.
Concerns about the ability to trace U.S. beef from ranch to supermarket appear to be a major stumbling block to the quick resumption of U.S. sales, said Nancy K. Peterson, director of the Montana Department of Agriculture. Peterson and 15 other members of a Montana trade delegation returned Saturday from a 10-day trip led by the Montana Farm Bureau Federation to promote Montana and U.S. beef in Tokyo, Osaka and Kumamoto, Japan.
"We heard consumers say repeatedly that they like the taste of U.S. beef and some of their favorite foods have become less available and more expensive in the two years since a ban on U.S. imports was imposed in December 2003," Peterson said.
Some officials expressed optimism during the trip that a government panel would soon lift the import ban, but a government panel put off a recommendation Monday, citing a failure of members to agree on whether U.S. measures to prevent mad-cow disease were sufficient.
In formal presentations in Osaka and Toyko, the delegation stressed the environment in which Montana livestock are raised and the methods used to brand and trace animals. Questions indicated that concerns about traceability relate primarily to the mixing of beef cuts at slaughter, according to Peterson and Dave McClure, president of the Montana Farm Bureau Federation.
"We heard very clearly that consumers and food service industry in Japan are being hurt by the ban on U.S. beef," McClure said. A shortage of tongue has caused the price to skyrocket to $26 a pound, and some small businesses that featured the delicacy have been forced to close.
Peterson moderated two formal presentations at Osaka and Tokyo. Panelists were McClure; Jeff Jacobsen, agriculture dean at Montana State University; Jeanne Rankin, assistant state veterinarian at the Montana Department of Livestock; and Charlene Schuster, executive director of the Montana Beef Council.
The delegation also received an enthusiastic reception when it hosted a booth at Country Gold, an international music festival attended by an estimated 20,000 people at Kumamoto, Japan. Miss Rodeo Montana, Brooke Lynn Vosen, was invited to join the performers on stage. Matt Wickens, a beef producer from Winifred, taught roping to a large gathering of would-be cowboys and cowgirls.
Other members of the trade delegation from the Montana Farm Bureau Federation were Robert Hanson, vice president; Jake Cummins, executive vice president; Nancy Schlepp, director of national affairs; Rebecca Colnar, media relations; and members Don Hoffman of Ismay, Jeff Welborn and Wayne Lower of Dillon and Pachy Burns of Big Timber. Also attending were Marty Earnheart, marketing officer for the Montana Department of Agriculture and Mako Sakaguchi of the Montana-Japan Trade Office.
For more information on the trade mission, contact Marty Earnheart at the Montana Department of Agriculture at 406-444-2402 or Rebecca Colnar of the Montana Farm Bureau at 406-223-4106.
