Japan’s Farm Ministry has recently announced that an animal health and quarantine agreement with China had come into force, paving the way towards the resumption of Japanese beef exports to China, which has been halted since 2001.
In September 2001, China banned beef imports from Japan due to an outbreak of bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE), popularly known as mad-cow disease.
The move comes at the right time as Japanese beef producers face higher tariffs for exports to the US under Trump’s reciprocal tariffs of 25% set to take effect on 1 August.
The ministry said, “Japan will continue discussions with China, including food safety and radiation testing, towards the resumption of Japanese beef exports to China.”
At the same time, China is also actively looking for new sources to import meat other than the US.
It was however unclear when beef exports will resume to China, however in June this year, China allowed the resumption of seafood imports from some Japanese regions, ending a nearly 2-year blanket ban imposed due to worries over Japan’s release of treated wastewater into the ocean from the Fukushima nuclear power plant.
