Japan increased beef imports from Canada

Published Aug 26, 2021

Tridge summary

In spring 2021, Japan increased beef imports from Canada due to anticipated reduced American beef imports and retail demand. Despite a slight decrease in total beef imports in March, Canada's exports to Japan surged by 59%. Retail beef sales in Japan remained stable, with a slight increase compared to pre-COVID levels. However, meat and poultry sales in supermarkets saw a slight decrease compared to last year but an increase compared to the same period in 2019. The foodservice sector is still recovering, with restaurant sales showing a significant increase from the previous year but a decrease compared to pre-COVID levels. Imported beef inventory decreased by 9.6% from the previous year, leading to an 19.6% increase in total beef sales volumes in March. Wholesale prices of North American short plate, a popular Canadian beef export, have doubled due to increased demand from other Asian markets.

Disclaimer:The above summary was generated by Tridge's proprietary AI model for informational purposes.

Original content

(Author: Ichiro Kiyotomi) Japan increased beef imports from Canada this spring due to increased demand in retail and expectations that American beef imports would be curbed.Japanese beef consumption remains relatively steady compared to last year’s levels, with foodservice sales anticipated to remain weak for the first half of 2021. Japan’s total beef import volumes in March were 54,200 tonnes, down 4% year-over-year. Imports from Canada reached 5,600 tonnes, an increase of 59 % year-over-year and up 48% from the previous month. Retail beef sales remain stable The Japan Supermarket Association announced that sales of meat and poultry products in April were down 9.9% from a year earlier but up 8.4% compared with the same period in 2019 (pre-COVID). Sales of beef products were relatively stable compared to pork and poultry products. Some distributors and wholesalers passed on the price-hike of short plate to retailers but other beef cut prices were steady in the last month and no ...

Source: EuroMeat