APD | Japan hopes to resume beef exports to China in 2020

By APD writer Alice

Japan hopes to resume the export of beef products to China, the world's most populous market, next year after about two decades, according to Japanese government sources.

Japan is in the final stage of talks with China about this issue. Japanese Foreign Minister Toshimitsu Motegi and his Chinese counterpart Wang Yi are expected to sign a pact on animal health and quarantine, serving as a precondition for the resumption, during their meeting scheduled for November 25.

China has banned beef imports from Japan since the first case of bovine spongiform encephalopathy, also known as mad cow disease, was detected in the country in 2001.

The two nations agreed during their high-level economic dialogue in April on the quarantine pact, paving the way for Beijing's lifting of the prolonged ban.

In China, beef consumption has been on the rise, especially among high-income households.

In recent years, Japanese wagyu beef, known for its tenderness and marbled fat, has been gaining popularity overseas. Its total beef exports increased to 24.7 billion yen in 2018, up from 3.4 billion yen ($31 million) in 2010.

(ASIA PACIFIC DAILY)