Official predicts rebound in overseas pork purchases in 2010

By RICHARD SMITH
For the Capital Press

TOKYO -- Japan's pork imports fell 14 percent last year, the government reported.

Japan Ministry of Finance figures show the country imported 288,669 tons of U.S. pork last year compared with 336,993 tons in 2008, a drop of 14 percent.

Total pork imports slumped from 817,691 to 702,936 tons, also a 14 percent drop.

Japan last year imported 174,686 tons of pork from Canada and 159,784 tons from Denmark.

Japan Agriculture and Livestock Industries Corp. 2008 figures show domestic pork production of 874,078 tons.

Several factors caused the drop in imports, officials said.

Tatsuo Iwama, executive director of the 30-member Japan Meat Traders Association, said the introduction of a vaccine for circovirus boosted Japanese pork production last year.

In addition, cases of tainted "gyoza" dumplings from China caused a shift to domestic gyoza production, so imports dropped significantly.

But Iwama said imports will probably rise this year, as pork prices drop as a result of the recession.

"The effect we can foresee for the second half of the year is a rise in demand for imported pork compared to last year," he said.

Japanese beef consumption is not rising, said Hisashi Nakai, managing director for the Japan Food Service Association. "Conversely, pork demand is rising," he said.

U.S. Meat Export Federation Japan trade projects and trade communications director Susumu Harada rejects the suggestion U.S. pork enjoys an advantage over U.S. beef because of bovine spongiform encephalopathy.

"Used in different recipes for different purposes, U.S. pork has its own market separate from U.S. beef," he said.

Some trade representatives disagree. Nakai noted that because of BSE, a trend favoring pork over beef runs through the world.

"But we can't make sweeping generalizations," he said. Iwama said because of BSE fears, demand for pork has been rising. "But there's a possibility things may change," he said.

The federation does not know the level or extent of anti-U.S. pork lobbying, but some domestic pork producers have been calling for more protection from imports, Harada said.

Imported pork faces a tariff based on the government-set "gate price" on large shipments.

A Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries' Meat Marketing and Trade Policy Office assistant director, who declined to give his name, said there are no plans to lower the gate price for U.S. pork.

Harada believes U.S. exporters can depend on growing Japanese demand in the future, as the country's production growth is limited.