Japan to Begin Exporting Beef to U.S.

Beef from Japan, one of the world’s biggest meat importers, is likely to start appearing on the menu at a small number of pricey U.S. restaurants by this summer.

The beef exports will be the first by Japan to the United States, the world’s biggest beef producer, in more than 20 years.

Japanese beef growers use labor-intensive methods--including massaging of the animals--that many experts say result in a product that is tastier and more tender than beef grown elsewhere. It is also costlier.

Japan’s Health Ministry said Thursday that it had provided local governments with details on cutting and inspection methods which will allow slaughterhouses to meet U.S. standards.

Three slaughterhouses are ready to apply for approval. The three, supported financially by the Agriculture Ministry, have already rebuilt facilities to meet U.S. standards.

“Exporters expect to get the permission by the end of June,” an Agriculture Ministry official said. “They are willing to start their business as soon as possible.”

The three still have not decided on amounts and prices for the exports to the United States, he said. But amounts are likely to be small at first as exporters test the market, the official said.

Most of the high-cost beef is expected to be sold to prestige restaurants. “High-quality beef, such as marbled beef, will sell well in the U.S. despite its expensive cost,” the official said. High-quality beef sells wholesale in Japan for almost $6 a pound on a bone-in basis, almost twice the price of U.S. beef sold in Japan.