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Home / Ministry of Agriculture Forestry and Fisheries "Eating Beef Is Not the World Standard"

Ministry of Agriculture Forestry and Fisheries "Eating Beef Is Not the World Standard"

Abstract

  • The livestock producers in Japan continued to be exposed to the wave of the free trade such as TPP (Trans-Pacific Partnership) and EPA (Economic Partnership Agreement).
  • In the past, livestock producers in Nihon was exposed to the competition against the low priced imported beef from North America and Oceania after reached agreements of the liberalization of U.Due south. and Australia in 1991 and liberalization of the beefiness by the agricultural Agreement of the Uruguay round reached in 1994.
  • As a result, the Ministry building of Agronomics, Forestry and Fisheries of Nippon attempted in differentiation for the legislation of WAGYU labeling requirement, equally well as making it a brand beef and at the same time carried forward the food safety procedures such as the traceability of the domestic beef, in club to encourage the Japanese Cattle production should not compete with the import beef directly. Every bit a event, Japanese Wagyu Cattle is becoming the major breed in Japanese beef production.
  • Specifically, all the same, a Wagyu Cattle is needed to be fed for an extended catamenia (Nearly more than than 30 months) in society to brand a marble beefiness and most of Japanese Cattle feeders are not able to brand good profit for long time due to high price of feeder cattle as well equally loftier price of grain feeds.
  • The reason for a higher cost of the Japanese beefiness is mainly due to expensive feeder cattle, high toll for long feeding, environs expenditures, materials and personnel costs expenses.
  • Under such a difficult environments, the Tokachi-Shimizu-cho Agronomical Cooperative (JA Tokachi-Shimizu) started the efforts establishing a new fattening business organization using castrated dairy breed (Holstein steer) in Tokachi area Hokkaido  where is dairy farming district and tries the production of the low cost domestic beef confronting the low-priced imported beef.
  • Every bit to the fattening of a dairy breed steer, there is not much seen apart from Nihon, as far every bit I know.
  • While this report explains the earth beef situation, also as situations in Japan with the fact of trade deregulation surrounding Nippon, I would similar to study on the challenge of JA Tokachi-Shimizu confronting the intensively gratuitous trade wave.

Key words: Tokachi-Shimizu Agronomical Cooperative Hokkaido Beef Holstein Wagyu

INTRODUCTION

Undoubtedly, the wave of the deregulations of trade such equally TPP and EPA are approaching closer and closer to the livestock and the dairy farming industries.

The livestock industry in Japan, specifically, the beef producer has been exposed to the competition with the depression price imported beef from the U.Due south. and Australia later on the import liberalization of the beefiness by the Uruguay round agriculture Agreement (the Marrakech Agreement) 1994.

Tabular array i shows the globe beef production. Japan's beef production is as well pocket-size covering the domestic consumption, appropriately Japan need to import beef from North America and Oceania (Ref: Table two, virtually sixty% of the total need quantity :).

As shown in Tabular array iii, Costs between Japanese beef and U.S. beef are mainly due to Japan's expensive feeder cattle, loftier feed costs for long feeding, surround expenditures, material costs, and personnel expenses. Because of limited state and pasture for cattle grazing in Japan, our farmers are non able to produce beefiness in quantities at low cost like the U.S. and Australia.

In Japan, majority of cattle farmers demand to employ imported feed-crops and even hays past very loftier delivery cost from North America and Australia. There are the major reasons why the product cost of beef in Japan becomes quite high.  Livestock industry in Korea and Taiwan are seemed to exist in similar conditions as Nihon heavily relaying on imported feed grains.

Here, I would similar to draw how high cost Japanese beef has competed and been managed to survive against much lower prices (Ref. Table 4) U.s.a. Beef and Ausie beefiness after the Uruguay round.

Later the Uruguay round (the Marrakech Agreement) in 1994, Japan's Ministry of Agronomics, Forestry and Fisheries (MAFF) felt a Crisis Atmosphere. It decided Japan specializing to produce expensive well-marbled beef targeted to the niche market place, by doing the long-range fattening of the Japanese Wagyu Cattle (more than 30 months of age) past expending import duty income in imported beefiness to support Japanese beef producers. This strategy is seemed to take succeeded to a certain degree.

Incidentally, beef cattle fattened in Japan are mainly Wagyu Cattle, Wagyu-Holstein F1, and Holstein Steers, different from the beef cattle breeds in North America and Oceania. (Ref. Fig. 1).

Photograph: Japan National Beef Promotion fund Association

However, information technology resulted in oversupplying state of affairs due to the too many participants of classy marble beefiness production. The deflation economy in Nihon at that fourth dimension as well made marketplace toll flounder for long menstruum. And so later, running parallel with the producer aging, the number of the Japanese Cattle producers continued declining, lower to the level of 57500 houses (half dozen% downward over the previous years for directly four years) in July 2014 from lxxx,000 houses in 2007.

As a event, the price of the Japanese Cattle is rising from 2012 from the decrement of the production. (Fig. 2).

Fig. ii. Japanese Beef Marketplace (Carcass)

Unit: United states$/kg

ex rate JP120

Source: ALIC beef market study graphed by author

At present it's about the TPP of which negotiations are stopped at nowadays, however the import duties of the beefiness in the final adjustment plan after the effectuation of TPP is expected to exist following, according to the News newspaper reports.

  • It comes down to 27.5% from current 38.five% at the time of the effectuation.
  • Then after, tariff is scheduled to exist cut down to the level of ix%, in the 15th yr. (Ref. Fig. three Expected Japan'south Tariff for Beef after effective date of TPP).

DATA SOURCE：Nippon AGRI NEWS 2015/8/xiv　GRAPHED BY Author

Accordingly, Japanese beef producers will have to face up difficulties by to the further depression-cost imported beef resulting from expected sharp cutting in import duties.  In addition, currently available beef producer'due south subsidies funding from about United states$1200million revenue from beef import duty, volition nearly likely be reduced by about fifty% 10 years later, and further cut downwardly to 25% in 15 years subsequently.

Namely, the moving ridge of merchandise liberalizations with TPP in the lead, Japanese beef producers will have to face with double severe situation, while suffering from failing beef prices and decreasing subsidies due to the lowered import tariff.

Under such an surround, there is an agricultural cooperative in Hokkaido, Nihon, producing a loftier quality beef at depression cost over 15 years. It is intended to innovate precisely on the efforts and achievements performed past the agricultural cooperative.

Case of TOKACHI WAKAUSHI (TOKACHI Yearling Beef) of the Tokachi-Shimizu agronomical cooperative

Tokachi-Shimizu is a cute modest town with 9900 populations, situated on the center in Hokkaido Japan, iii hours by a car from Sapporo. The climate is cool and boilerplate temperature in Jan is -6.4°C and in August, fifty-fifty the warmest month, is average twenty.1°C. The master industry is a dairy farming, a livestock producing and upland field cropping such equally the asparagus etc. (Ref. Fig. iv Japan map).

PHOTO１ "FARM IN TOKACHI"

© JA TOKACHI SHIMIZU

An overview of the projection

Tokachi-Shimizu Agriculture cooperative (JA Tokachi-Shimizu) succeeded in making its farmers group to produce high quality Holstein steers (castrated dairy breed). Usually Holstein steers are by-products from dairy manufacture.

The Tokachi-Shimizu Holstein steer farmers shortened its catamenia of the cereals fatting, making lower cost and better cash flow while keeping high quality. Through their own unique marketing, they established "TOKACHI WAKAUSHI" brand in the major markets such every bit Tokyo and Osaka Nihon.

The production project for TOKACHI WAKAUSHI (TOKACHI yearling beef) is started in 1996 and half dozen years later (2002), 4 farmers supplied 1400 heads of Tokachi Yearling Beef, and 12years later (2014) six farmers supplied 5500 steers.

PHOTO two: Holstein Yearling Steer "TOKACHI WAKA USHI"

© JA TOKACHI SHIMIZU

Also, 12years ago, Tokachi Yearling Beef was average 14months onetime, with average live weight: 600kgs and boilerplate carcass weight: 320kgs, withal they have now succeeded in gaining more than live weight and carcass weight while reducing feeding period i.e. average age: 13.5months, boilerplate alive weight: 620～630kg, average carcass weight: 330～340kg. These KAIZEN (comeback) were mainly done in improving its feeds components. Tokachi Yearling Beef is more profitable than regular twenty months quondam Holstein steer.

Tabular array 5. Comparison of Tokachi Yearling beefiness (140 months) and ordinary Holstein steer (20 months)

Source: For the value chain structure of the TOKACHI WAKAUSHI, 2013 JMI ALIC

Translated past Writer.

Dressed (Retail) meat weight of regular Holstein steer is worse than TOKACHI Yearling beefiness equally shown on the table 5. The reason is that regular Holstein steers has much weight of a os and a fat. Therefore, the production price of TOKACHI Yearling beef is 20% lower than 20months age regular Holstein steer.

Photo 3. Carcass of Tokachi Yearling Beef

Photograph © Kenji Yamamoto

On top of that, the characteristic of the TOKACHI Yearling beef (TOKACHI WAKAUSHI) is keeping even carcass size, with weight uniformity, as for the mankind color, they are brightly as a whole, and the modify of meat color is slow and remaining steady. The biggest feature of this beef is "Tenderness" of every cut with trivial fatty content, thus resulting in very salubrious beefiness, like shooting fish in a barrel-to- eat fifty-fifty for anyone from children to aged people.

Photograph 4.  TOKACHI Yearling Beef Loins. © JA TOKACHI-SHIMIZU

This projection has not but shortened fattening periods of the Tokachi yearling beefiness to 13 to 14 months. In gild to shorten the fattening period, while maintaining a certain degree of quality, JA Tokachishimizu repeated long-term trial and error over long catamenia feeding method past age and recipe of the feed.

Also JA Tokachi-Shimizu advocated in establishing TOKACHI WAKAUSHI (TOKACHI Yearling Beef) Council comprising of the Beef producers, University, Tokachi-Shimizu Food Service (Meat processor, founded by JA Tokachi-Shimizu) and ZEFCO (Meat benefactor) and Directorate. The Council has fix Advisors Lath, comprising half-dozen experts for scientific verification and marketing.

Fig. v.  TOKACHI WAKAUSHI COUNSIL

Ob ihiro University of Agronomics and Veterinary Medicine

↓

↓ ← Advisory Board (6 specialists)

↓  (Marketing, Processing, QC etc.)

Tokachi Farmers→JA Tokachi Shimizu ←Tokachi Shimizu Food Service

(Executive Secretariat)            (Processing)

↑

ZEFUCO

(Sales, Marketing)

Photo 5. TOKACHI Yearling Beef Logo and Sukiyaki sliced Beef

© JA TOKACHI SHIMIZU (Left),  © Kenji Yamamoto (Right)

JA Tokachishimizu established Tokachi food service Company by investing 100% for boning, processing, cooking and selling by themselves.

JA Tokachishimizu is selling their yearling beefiness not only via ZEFUCO, only besides straight selling to the end user such as restaurants and meat shops, through which they can collect comments, needs directly for a further improvement. As upshot of their effort has been raising the make value of the TOKACHI Yearling beefiness, they succeeded raising 10~fifteen% college sales cost for TOKACHI Yearling Beef than other regular Holstein steers. JA Tokachishimizu is aiming to consign their Yearling beef to Asian countries in hereafter.

Decision

In case of Japanese traditional type agricultural cooperative, its role is to collect farmer's products and selling them at public markets. Therefore, non many agricultural cooperative did directly marketing to consumers. As a upshot, a number of agricultural cooperatives are exposed to the moving ridge of the gratuitous trade without making appropriate improvement to follow the changes in the market.

Nevertheless, in case of the TOKACHI Yearling Beef, an Agronomical cooperative has consistently achieved a business organization using Holstein steers, which was not valued world-widely before, as a high quality beef cattle at low production toll for a further processing and distribution to the market place.

Currently they are successfully competing against the U.Due south. and Australian beefiness by conducting market place survey and promotional activities by themselves, as well every bit participating in various events for farther increasing consumer recognition and brand image, through which they have expanded sales routes and increasing returns.

I shall be more than happy if this study roofing various activities adult by JA Tokachi-Shimizu for further giving additional value for Holstein Yearling Steers should be of any reference for the other every Asian country.

REFERENCES

  • ALIC (2014). Livestock and Livestock Products Statistical data  Web: http://lin.alic.go.jp/alic/statis/dome/data2/e_nstatis.htm
  • Japan Agri News (2015/8/xiv) "Tariff of Beefiness will be 9% for all TPP participating Nations". TPP News update 3. Nippon Nogyo Shimbun
  • Kenji Yamamoto (2012). "Do you know TOKACHI WAKAUSHI ?". Yamaken nutrient & eating house diary. Web: http://www.yamaken.org/mt/kuidaore/archives/2012/04/ja_2.html
  • Masayoshi Honma, Kazuhiko Hotta, Hiroshi Takahashi, Tetsuhide Mikamo, Seiji Mitsuishi (2014). "Food 2040 report" Report on Japan'southward Contribution toGrowing Food Markets in Asia　U.S. Grain Counsil   Web: http://grainsjp.org/cms/wp-content/uploads/Report-final_E.pdf
  • Satoru Sasaki (2014). For the value chain structure of the TOKACHI WAKAUSHI, 2013 Challenge to new demand creation for domestic beef. 27-35, Japan Meat Information Service Center.
  • Shigeru Okada (2002). About producing and marketing of "TOKACHI WAKAUSHI". ALIC Monthly "Livestock Information" 2002.12, Agriculture & Livestock Industries Corporation, Japan.
  • USDA FAS (2014) Beefiness and Veal Selected Countries Summary - Product / Consumption.

Submitted equally a resource paper for the FFTC-NACF International Seminar on Improving Nutrient Marketing Efficiency—the Part of Agricultural Cooperatives, Sept. 14-eighteen, NACF, Seoul, Korea

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Source: https://ap.fftc.org.tw/article/943