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Japan, S. Korea to Halt U.S. Beef Imports

Posted on: Tuesday, 23 December 2003, 06:00 CST

Japan and South Korea halted imports of U.S. beef on Wednesday after a cow in Washington state tested positive for mad cow disease, depriving American exporters of two of their largest overseas markets.

Singapore followed suit and authorities in other Asian nations were also deciding whether to invoke bans.

Japan's Agriculture Ministry said the ban applied to beef and beef products and took effect immediately.

"Until its safety can be confirmed, we decided to ban U.S. beef imports for the time being starting today," said Yasuo Fukuda, the Japanese government's top spokesman. "We plan to recall meat products that might contain bits from cattle brains and spinal cords."

In Seoul, South Korea, the government halted customs inspection of U.S. beef, effectively preventing the meat from reaching the domestic market.

South Korea's Agriculture and Forestry Ministry said it also suspended sales of all U.S. beef already on the market as a precaution.

Japan, South Korea and Mexico are the world's top importers of U.S. beef, according to the U.S. Meat Export Federation. There was no word late Tuesday night of any actions by Mexico.

The federation said imports during 2002 totaled $842 million for Japan, $610 million for South Korea and $595 million for Mexico. However, the federation said Mexico was the largest importer in terms of volume, bringing in 349,900 tons.

Singapore, which has imported $7 million worth of beef this year, announced an immediate ban.

In Canada, where a single case of the disease was found in May, federal officials said late Tuesday that imports wouldn't be banned unless the suspected case was confirmed.

The actions by the Asian nations came just hours after the U.S. government announced that a Holstein cow on a Washington state farm tested positive for mad cow disease, marking the disease's first suspected appearance in the United States.

Japanese authorities have been especially leery about mad cow disease since the nation's herds suffered the first recorded outbreak of the disease in Asia in September 2001, causing meat consumption to plunge. Consumption, however, has since rebounded.

The country quarantined 604 cows in October to prevent the spread of the disease after authorities confirmed that a 23-month-old bull had a new strain of the bovine illness - the nation's eighth case.

Tokyo moved ahead with the ban despite assurances from U.S. officials that the American beef supply was safe. Japan banned the import of Canadian beef after a single case of the disease was confirmed in Ottawa on May 20, and Tokyo had expressed concern that some Canadian beef could slip into Japan via the United States.

While fresh imports have been banned, there was no widespread rush to pull American beef from supermarket shelves. A spokesman for Ito-Yokado, Japan's largest supermarket chain, said the retailer had faith in the safety of the beef already on its shelves and would sell its stocks.

Ito-Yokado imports its U.S. beef from herds in the midwest, far from where the infected Holstein was discovered in Washington state, the spokesman said, speaking on condition of anonymity.

Meanwhile, stock in beef exporter Australian Agricultural Co. jumped nearly 13 percent in anticipation of new sales opportunities.

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Associated Press Writer Jae-Suk Yoo in Seoul contributed to this report.

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