Japan - Beef Imports

Submitted by: Jason Munsch, Alberta Exchange to Japan
Alberta Agriculture, Food and Rural Development

Australia and the US have been competing for number one position in Japan for over 5 years now. However, Australian beef imports are on the rise. This is due to Japanese companies entering partnerships and/or joint ventures with Australian or New Zealand companies. The Japanese companies send Japanese cattle to their partners in Australia/New Zealand, then import the value-added goods back to Japan.

The reason that Australia and/or New Zealand is chosen over North America is because their prices are low (transportation, labour, etc.) and according to the buyer, "the other companies are doing it as well, so there is pressure to follow the trend". Beef imports from North America, Australia and New Zealand are predicted to increase due to the decreasing number of Japanese cattle farms and the scarcity of Japanese beef in the coming years.

Beef Standards and Qualifications

• The percentage of fat allowed in beef is approx. 5%
• The thickness of beef used for shabu-shabu (thin slices of beef parboiled in hot soup) is about 3-5 cm.
• All cuts are individually vacuum packed and there are 8 pieces per box.
• Small companies/factories must be practising HACCP and TQM (Total Quality Management) before major Japanese companies will do business with them.

Canadian Beef Imports

Canadian beef imports to Japan have increased; however, the number is still relatively small when compared to other countries.

The company I was with is not importing any Canadian beef at the moment. The reason for this is:

• Canadian factories are not very large and, therefore, cannot fulfill all of the possible orders.
• Delivery and labour cost is too high, hence Japan is turning more towards Asian countries because of low labour and transportation cost.
• Canada has a grading system that is incompatible with the US grading system.
• A belief that Japanese companies and consumers have is that they don't feel safe if the product is not produced in or near Japan because they have no control over the production process.
• Australian and US beef are well advertised when compared to Canadian beef advertising (i.e. in-store pamphlets, POS promotions etc.)

This information is maintained by: Gail Atkinson
Last Revised/Reviewed January 28, 1999

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