Exporter: U.S. will sell about 100,000 tonnes of beef in Japan next year

TOKYO (AP) - U.S. producers expect to export 100,000 tonnes of beef to Japan next year, just a third of what they sold before a 2003 ban on imports due to the mad cow scare, the head of the U.S. Meat Export Federation said Thursday. "I hope I'm wrong, I hope it's more than that," Philip Seng told reporters in Tokyo while unveiling plans for a public relations blitz to win back wary Japanese consumers. Seng said it would be at least three years before American exporters reach the 2003 level of about 300,000 tonnes of beef sold in Japan.

Japan partially lifted its two-year ban on U.S. beef imports on Dec. 12. The country had been the most lucrative export market for American beef before it was shut out in 2003 after the first case of mad cow disease was discovered in the U.S. herd.

The first shipment of U.S. beef in nearly two years arrived in Japan last week.

But American beef still faces a struggle in Japan, where consumers are particularly sensitive to safety concerns. Some restaurants are reluctant to market American meat until they are sure the public will be receptive.

Seng's export group hosted representatives of Japan's food industry Wednesday for a beef luncheon featuring some 130 kilograms of roast filet with gravy and filet with mushrooms in white sauce.

© The Canadian Press, 2005