Articles on Trade and International Issues Related to Livestock

Japan Activates Safeguards Raising Tariffs on Beef and Pork

On August 1, the government activated safeguard measures raising tariffs on fresh and chilled beef and pork. The decision was taken after the figures for June in the Ministry of Finance’s Foreign Trade Statistics pushed the growth of imports during the April-June quarter over the trigger levels. The tariff on beef will be raised from 38.5% to 50%, effective from August 1 until March 31, 2004.

Under the beef safeguard measures, the figures for import volume are totaled every three months and if the cumulative growth from the beginning of the year to the end of the quarter exceeds 17% of imports during the corresponding period in the previous year, the tariff is automatically raised. Imports of fresh and chilled beef surged in the April-June quarter, rising by approximately 34% on the same period in 2002, thereby exceeding the trigger level. Imports of frozen beef rose by only 5% over the same period, not enough to trigger safeguard measures.

The system applicable to pork differs from that for beef, but safeguards were activated because import volume during the April-June quarter surged as compared with the average for the corresponding period in the past three years, and exceeded the trigger level.

Japan Proposes Abolition of Tariffs on 50 More Agricultural Products Under FTA With Mexico

On October 7, just prior to the start of negotiations with a view to the conclusion of a free trade agreement (FTA) with Mexico, the Japanese government drew up a comprehensive proposal embracing all product sectors. The new proposal adds some 50 agricultural products, including honey and bananas, to the list of more than 250 products on which Japan has already proposed to abolish tariffs, bringing the total to more than 300. The Japanese negotiators plan to maintain their basic position that pork, a subject of contention, should be excluded.

The Mexican and Japanese governments will start the final stage of negotiations on October 8, aiming to be ready for the conclusion of a framework agreement during the forthcoming visit to Japan of United Mexican States President Vicente Fox, which is scheduled to begin on October 15. The Japanese negotiators will present the proposal, which covers all areas of trade including agricultural products, and ask the Mexican government to make concessions for products such as pork, on which Japan feels it is unable to abolish tariffs.

The items added to the list of agricultural products on which Japan proposes to abolish tariffs are all products in which Mexico has expressed an interest, including honey (currently subject to a tariff of 25.5%), bananas (20% or 25% according to season), fresh grapefruit (10%), grapes (7.8% or 17% according to season), and the juices of these fruit. Japan proposes that the major types of meat, rice, sugar and other products subject to high tariffs should be treated as important products sectors and excluded from the agreement.

A senior official from the Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries said the proposal was Japan's best offer, explaining, "We have done everything possible given the present conditions in agriculture in this country." However, there is still a substantial gap between the Japanese proposal and the list of 490 items on which Mexico is pressing for the abolition of tariffs as a priority, and the negotiations are likely to be difficult.

Difficulties Expected in FTA Talks as Mexico Proposes Substantial Liberalization

At vice ministerial talks between Japan and Mexico held in Los Angeles on November 5, after negotiations over the proposed FTA (free trade agreement) collapsed in mid-October, Mexican officials put forward new proposals for the liberalization of trade in farm products, it was revealed on November 6. The new proposals, which go far beyond those tabled during the previous round of negotiations, cover a total of five products including beef, oranges, orange juice, and chicken as well as pork, in respect of which Mexico has requested a new tariff-free quota. Japan insisted that conditions on pork and beef had already been agreed, but Mexico is pressing for talks to go back to square one and progress is expected to be difficult.

The negotiators were aiming to strike a deal by the time of the summit talks held on October 16, when United Mexican States President Vicente Fox visited Japan, but while Japan proposed a tariff-free quota of 5,000 tons on orange juice, Mexico pressed for 10,000 tons, and agreement could not be reached. The prospect was that agreement would be reached on the setting of a new low-tariff quota of approximately 80,000 tons that would relax the tariffs on high-grade pork over a certain price, and on the exclusion of beef and chicken from the FTA.

However, at the vice ministerial talks on November 5, Mexico raised its demands, proposing, among other changes, the setting of a new tariff-free or low tariff quota of 120,000 tons on pork, the abolition of tariffs on orange juice and oranges, and the setting of new tariff-free quotas of 40,000 tons on beef and 30,000 tons on chicken. An official of the Ministry of Trade, Economy and Industry said, "We cannot accept these levels."

Ban on Beef, Pork and Lamb Imports from Korea Partially Lifted Following End of FMD Epidemic

On December 3, the Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries decided to partially lift measures banning the importation of artiodactyla, including cattle, swine and sheep, and their meat from Korea, on the grounds that an outbreak of foot-and-mouth disease (FMD) in that country has been eradicated. Owing to an outbreak of swine cholera, the ban on imports of pork remains in place, except for meat from animals raised on Cheju Island, which has had no reported cases of the disease and has effective arrangements for preventing an epidemic.

The Korean outbreak of FMD began in March 2000, and MAFF responded by banning imports of artiodactyla, including swine and cattle, and their meat. In April 2002, the ban was lifted after Korea declared itself free from FMD, but was reinstated when the disease flared up once more in May 2002. The last case was reported in June 2002, and MAFF has been able to confirm that Korea has taken adequate preventive measures.

In 1999, prior to the FMD outbreak, Japan imported approximately 81,000 tons of pork, 570 tons of beef and 2,300 tons of lamb from Korea.

Government Plans to Maintain Beef Safeguards in Fiscal 2004

The government revealed, on December 8, that it intends to maintain the system of safeguards (which provide for tariffs to be raised in case of a sharp rise in imports of beef) next fiscal year, and that its content would remain largely the same. The food service industry has been calling for modifications so that special circumstances such as an outbreak of BSE (bovine spongiform encephalopathy) would be taken into account when deciding whether or not safeguards should be activated, but the government has decided simply to extend the existing system. The official decision to extend the system will be made by the end of the month, at a meeting of the Council on Customs, Tariff, Foreign Exchange, and Other Transactions (an advisory body to the Ministry of Finance) and a bill proposing a revision of the Temporary Tariff Measures Law to extend the system will be submitted to the ordinary session of the Diet in 2004.

Under the safeguard system, if cumulative growth of quarterly import volume for the past four quarters exceeds 17% on the previous four quarters, the tariff on beef, which has provisionally been lowered to 38.5%, is automatically returned to 50%.

Other Livestock-related Issues

NARO Achieves In Vitro Pig Embryo Transfer Without Abdominal Section

The National Agricultural Research Organization's National Institute of Animal Health, at Tsukuba in Ibaraki Prefecture, announced on March 4 that it had become the first facility anywhere in the world to succeed in raising piglets from embryos fertilized in vitro and transferred to the surrogate mother without abdominal section.  The technique has already been developed to a practical level for cattle, but the suitability of the in vitro culture technology for pigs had not been established, and as the configuration of the uterus to which the fertilized eggs must be transferred is highly complex, there had, as yet, been no successful attempts.  The new technique has the advantage of being less of a strain on the mother than that involving abdominal section.  As it is also cheaper and helps to protect the sow from infection, it promises to be useful in breed improvement.

Performance of Japanese Holstein Seed Bulls is World-Class

The National Livestock Breeding Center (NLBC) has, for the first time, published the results of an international evaluation of the performance of dairy breed seed bulls. The NLBC’s analysis indicates that, when assessed by the methods of the international evaluation, the performance of Holstein seed bulls bred in Japan is among the highest in the world. The Center describes their economic performance as “world-class”.

The NLBC, which formerly published evaluations of the performance of foreign seed bulls twice a year, recently switched to evaluations by an international organization known as Interbull. Because Interbull evaluations calculate the performance that can be expected from all seed bulls in all participating countries, when used in a specific country, it is possible to compare the performance that can be expected when imported semen is used in Japan with the performance of seed bulls in Japan, using the same scale.

In the ranking of seed bulls for use Japan, 25 of the top 100 animals whose daughters can be expected to give improved milk yield are Japanese animals. In the genetic evaluations for milk fat and milk protein, 33 of the top 100 animals are Japanese.

Focusing on seed bulls born in 1998, the genetic evaluation of the performance of Japanese animals in terms of average milk yield is high, even in comparison with that of animals in the Netherlands or the United States, and is described by the NLBC as “among the highest in the world”.

Yamagata Center Develops Sexing Technique for Fertilized Cattle Ova That is Kind to Cells

The Livestock Research Division of the Yamagata Prefectural Agricultural Research and Study Center at Shinjo (Yamagata Prefecture) has developed a new technology for cell sampling that allows the sexing of cattle embryos at the fertilized ovum stage without causing significant damage to cells. The Center has successfully used this technique in breeding calves. Until now, the method used involved a biopsy, but the resulting damage was severe and it was difficult to freeze the cell sample for storage.

The new method involves making an incision on the surface of fertilized ovum cells and cultivation over one or two days. The balloon shaped growth that emerges from the incision is then removed for testing.

The new method causes little cellular damage and allows freezing for storage. For this reason, if it is decided to transfer the remaining portion after sampling to a surrogate mother, it is possible to choose a time when the mother is able to conceive, thereby enhancing production efficiency. The high accuracy of the DNA information collected has also made it possible to determine the presence or absence of genetic diseases that could not previously be detected.

3 Greatest Areas of Consumer Concern are Agricultural Chemicals, Imported Foods and Additives

In terms of food safety, the first cause for concern is agricultural chemicals. — Around 70% of respondents to a monitor survey conducted by the Cabinet Office's Food Safety Commission among consumers and food producers and manufacturers took this view.

The most common issue concern was "agricultural chemicals", cited by 68% of respondents, followed by "imported foods" (66%), "additives" (64%) and "environmental hormones and other contaminants" (61%). The reasons for citing "imported foods" were concern over agricultural chemical residues or food additives. Respondents were concerned over production conditions in other countries and the effectiveness of "water's edge" inspection systems. A number of respondents cited specific fears over genetically modified soybeans, the pathogenic colibacillus O-157 and meat-and-bone meal.

The degree of awareness differed according to respondent category. Consumers expressed a high level of concern over carcinogenicity and were most concerned over "additives". The concern most commonly cited by food producers was "contaminants", while researchers and medical professionals cited "imported foods".

When asked where improvements were required in order to assure food safety, 80% of monitors cited "the production stage" (cultivation management, control of agricultural chemical spraying, etc.), while 59% cited "the manufacturing/processing stage". Only a few respondents cited "sales" or "the catering stage", and the further up the distribution chain, away from the table, the stronger the demand for change.

Responses to the survey were received from 455 of the food safety monitors recruited by the Food Safety Commission.

MAFF Establishes New JAS Standard for Pork Requiring Disclosure of Production Information

On February 4, the Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries (MAFF) decided to establish a new JAS ((Japanese Standard of Agricultural and Forestry Products) standard for pork. Pork for which specified information (animal's date of birth, name of owner, date slaughtered, feeds and pharmaceuticals given, etc.) is recorded and disclosed will be certified as joho kohyo butaniku ["production information disclosed pork"].

On the same day, a General Meeting of the Research Committee for the Japanese Standard of Agricultural and Forestry Products approved the establishment of a new JAS standard for pork. MAFF hopes to officially decide the new standard this spring and implement it as early as this summer. The first JAS standard requiring the disclosure of production information was that for beef, established in December 2003. The standard for pork will be the second such standard. Production history information is to be verified by third-party organizations. MAFF is considering the introduction of similar standards for vegetables, rice and other agricultural products.

Views on Food Safety

Food Safety Commission Must be Managed in a Resolute Manner

The government has established a Food Safety Commission.  In the wake of a series of “incidents” — the Snow Brand food poisoning scandal, the outbreak of BSE (bovine spongiform encephalopathy) in this country, the problem of residual agricultural chemicals in imported vegetables, etc. — consumer demand for “food safety and peace of mind” has intensified at a rapid rate.  As an independent body, the Commission should strive to satisfy the expectations of the people of Japan.  If it falters, or betrays public confidence in food safety, it could be the cause of significant social unease.  It must be managed in a resolute manner.

The drive to assure food safety is a worldwide phenomenon.  Organizations similar to the Food Safety Commission have been established in the European Union and elsewhere.  A representative example is the European Food Safety Authority.  The fact that, today, we must rely on independent authorities of this kind to assure food safety in a fair and scientific manner is evidence of the widespread, complex and severe nature of the threats to food safety.  The volume of international trade in food and the materials used to produce it has grown, and the problems are not confined by national borders.  In this age of mass production and wide-area distribution, there is every reason to fear the impact that a food accident in one small area will have far-reaching consequences.  The establishment of the Food Safety Commission as an independent safety evaluation authority answers the needs of the age.

In the past, the Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries (MAFF) and the Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare (MHLW) were responsible for both aspects of food safety administration — safety/risk evaluation and risk management — in their respective fields.  This presented a risk that evaluations would be less-than-objective.  One consequence was the mishandling of the BSE crisis that led to MAFF being criticized for “grave errors of administration”.  The new Commission is part of the Cabinet Office and as such independent of both ministries.  Its mission is to evaluate biological, chemical and physical risks presented by foods, in an objective and scientific manner, with the object of safeguarding the life and health of the people of Japan.  On the basis of its evaluations, it will advise the two ministries on matters relating to risk management, and check that food safety administration is properly implemented.  To this end, it will serve as a center for the compilation and classification of risk information from both within Japan and overseas, and, if a serious food safety incident arises, will play a central role in managing information and drafting risk control measures for the government.

The Commission is made up of seven commissioners, four full-time and three part-time, who have been selected for their expertise in fields such as toxicology, microbiology, organic chemistry, and sanitary science, which will serve as the basis for evaluating the effect of foods on health and deciding what action should be taken in the event of a crisis.  There were calls for consumers to be represented on the Commission, but the idea was turned down on the grounds that “the Commission is not a forum for settling conflicts of interest between sectors”.  Producers and consumers will be represented on the specialist research committees reporting to the Commission on various issues, and their opinions should be given due consideration.  Ensuring transparency will be of overriding importance if the Commission’s decisions are to win the confidence of the public.  It must listen with sincerity to the opinions of producers, consumers and food-related businesses.

There is considerable interest in all the issues relating to food safety that have emerged in recent years and months, including the BSE outbreak, the problems of residual agricultural chemicals and food additives in imported foods, and the use of genetic modification and somatic cell cloning technology, and the Commission’s work will surely be a focus of public attention.  The Japanese public is showing a particular interest in the safety of imported foods, and the Commission should focus on ensuring thoroughness of “water’s edge” inspections.  The Commission will have to address a great variety of issues in order to fulfill its primary mission of safeguarding the health of the nation.

(from an editorial in the July 1, 2003 issue of the Nihon Nogyo Shimbun)

BSE: New Information Should be Used to Enhance Food Safety

Just when a consensus had been reached that the probable source of infection was meat-and-bone meal made from imported cattle, a new case of BSE (bovine spongiform encephalopathy) was discovered. The 23 month-old beef steer is the eighth infected animal to be discovered in Japan, but the form of the disease apparently differs from that observed in the earlier cases.

The animal in question is very young as compared with the seven infected cattle discovered to date, which were all over the age of five years. Moreover, experts say the structure and characteristics of its abnormal prions (the cause of BSE) differ from those seen in the earlier cases. It is thought that the steer had not yet shown symptoms of the disease when it was slaughtered. The reason for the apparent differences may be due to the infection being in its early stages, but there is likewise no denying the possibility that this may be a new type of BSE. Nor is it clear what level of risk the meat would present if eaten by human beings.

The first priority is to a thorough investigation of the nature of the BSE pathogens in this

case. It is to be hoped that this can be established using animal tests, etc.

There are virtually no known cases of cattle this young becoming infected anywhere in the world. One possible reason is that, in Europe and America, testing has mostly targeted animals over 24-30 months old. The background reason is that experts have taken the view that the abnormal prion proteins in the animal's body only build up to a detectable level from this age onwards.

When Japan began testing cattle slaughtered for meat in the autumn of 2001, some expressed the view that testing should target animals over the age of 30 months. However, with a view to assuaging consumer fears, all slaughtered animals have been tested.

This is why it was possible to detect BSE infection in a younger animal and prevent its meat from coming onto the market. Although it is not clear what level of risk the meat would present if eaten, it would probably be fair to say that caution has paid off.

It is to be hoped that effective use will be made of this valuable new information to enhance food safety.

Another important task besides ascertaining the characteristics of the abnormal prions is to determine the route of infection. The steer in question was born after the use of meat-and-bone meal in Japan was prohibited. Given this fact, it is highly likely that the cause of infection is something other than meat-and-bone meal. However, it is also possible that leftover contaminated feed containing meat-and-bone meal was given to the animal by mistake. Whatever the case may be, it is vital that the matter be investigated in detail.

If it is found that this is a new strain of BSE, which develops in younger animals, there is cause for concern over the safety of imported beef. Japan must share its information internationally, and, if necessary, call on other countries to strengthen their testing programs.

Japan must also consider whether its arrangements for detecting new strains of BSE are adequate. In the first place, prions are strange pathogens, which defy the conventional wisdom that proteins cannot become infected. It should not be forgotten that they present many mysteries that have yet to be elucidated.

Japan has already had the experience of being behindhand with BSE countermeasures. If this latest case yields a new insight into the disease, it will contribute to the assurance of food safety at an international level. The government and experts should work with producers to take advance action and do everything in their power to assure food safety.

(from an editorial in the October 8, 2003 issue of the Mainichi Shimbun)

BSE in the United States: Japan's Worrying Reliance on Food Imports

A cow infected with BSE (bovine spongiform encephalopathy) was recently discovered in the United States, the world's largest producer of beef. The Japanese government immediately suspended imports of beef and beef products from that country. Approximately 30% of all beef consumed in Japan is produced in the United States. As beef is widely consumed in the home and by the food service industry, the impact could be immeasurable. The whole affair draws attention once more to the fact that excessive reliance on food imports is a problem in terms of assuring both the safety of food and a stable supply of food. Given that the crisis has come in the Year End/New Year period, the time of year when demand is usually at its peak, there is concern that consumption of beef in general, including domestically produced meat, will decline. The government should once more emphasize the safety of the homegrown product, which is subject to testing of all slaughtered animals, and encourage people to eat more domestic beef.

Japan imports some 500,000-600,000 tons of beef each year, of which around 45% comes from the United States. American beef accounts for approximately 30% of domestic consumption, which means that the import ban is certain to have severe repercussions. The impact on discount stores and the food service industry, which set low sales prices and obtain most of their beef from the United States, is likely to be particularly severe. The gyu-don [bowl of rice covered with boiled beef and vegetables] chains, which obtain most of their beef from the United States are still busy gathering information and have not yet been able to decide on countermeasures.

In the autumn of 2001, when the first BSE-infected cow was discovered in Japan, a director of one major retail chain boldly declared, "American beef is safe." However, one consumer group that had been pursuing the question of the safety of imported foods insisted, "There will be a BSE outbreak in the United States, too, some day. In fact, it may already have started." It seems incredible that anyone should have claimed the United States, the world's largest producer of beef, was safe although outbreaks had occurred in most of Europe, Japan and Canada, since BSE was identified as a disease in farmed cattle in the United Kingdom in 1986. Perhaps the United States was not fully aware of the difficulty of preventing this disease, which is spread by an abnormal protein known as "abnormal prions", or perhaps it did not take the problem seriously.

In February 2002, the US General Accounting Office (GAO) issued report on BSE, which mentioned the inadequacy of measures to prevent an outbreak of the disease. The US government was the first to ban imports of beef and beef products from countries where there had been an outbreak of BSE. It also prohibited the use of meat-and-bone-meal, thought to be one of the sources of infection. The GAO found fault not only with the fact that the ban on the use of meat-and-bone-meal not thoroughly enforced, but also with the inadequacy of provisions for the testing of cattle that died on farms. Besides highlighting America's over-confidence in its preventive measures, the outbreak of BSE has severely undermined the credibility of testing arrangements in the United States.

Japan has a low food self-sufficiency ratio (40% on a calorie basis). As Japan has grown increasingly dependent on imports, domestic production has declined. To assure the stability of domestic supply volume, Japan must be weaned of its excessive dependence on imports. If imports are allowed to supply 30% of domestic consumption, as is the case with beef, the balance of supply and demand will be severely disrupted and prices will rise. The lesson of the present crisis is that the only way for Japan to maintain stable production of food and keep prices steady is to overcome its excessive dependence on imports.

(from an editorial in the December 25, 2003 issue of the Nihon Nogyo Shimbun)