EU hails Japan lifting 15-year ban on Italian beef imports

The European Union (EU) hailed "a great success of European trade diplomacy" on Thursday as Japan lifted an embargo on Italian beef which has been in place for 15 years.

The move was the latest in a series of Japan openings its market to beef products from EU states such as France, Ireland, the Netherlands, Poland, Denmark and Sweden.

A joint statement by EU commissioners Vytenis Andriukaitis, Cecilia Malmstrom and Phil Hogan, responsible for food safety, trade and agriculture, said: We look forward to seeing Japan opening its market to beef from the rest of the EU in the near future."

Japan introduced an import ban on beef from the EU in 2001, citing an alleged risk of Bovine Spongiform Encephalopathy (BSE).

The EU argued that Japan's measure went beyond the international standards set by the World Organization for Animal Health and did not take into account the stringent control and surveillance measures in place in the EU guaranteeing the safety of European beef and beef products.

Exports of beef and beef products from the EU to Japan resumed in 2013. Exports from EU member states were worth 4.7 million euros (5.2 million U.S. dollars) in 2015. (APD)