U.S. meat shippers optimistic Hong Kong market will reopen soon

U.S. meat shippers optimistic Hong Kong market will reopen soon    U.S. meat shippers are optimistic Hong Kong will reopen its market to American beef as the country did for Canadian beef exporters Tuesday.
   “As competitors (with Canada) in the international market, we are obviously disappointed with the commercial implications of the decision, since it clearly provides sales opportunities at the expense of U.S. exporters,” said Joel Haggard, vice president of Asia Pacific for the U.S. Meat Export Federation, in a Dec. 2 statement.
   “On the other hand, and more importantly, we are pleased that following the conclusion of extensive risk-analysis processes, the Hong Kong authorities are allowing imports of some categories of Canadian beef products, which we believe carry similar low-risk levels as U.S. beef,” Haggard added.
   Hong Kong, like many import markets, closed its doors to Canadian and U.S. beef       when instances of bovine spongiform encephalopathy, or “mad cow” disease, were discovered in cows in the two countries. The brain-wasting disease, which humans may contract through eating infected beef, was detected in a Washington state cow on Dec. 23, 2003.
   The U.S. Department of Agriculture has since negotiated to reopen markets to American beef shipments in Mexico and Canada, and is still working to normalize trade conditions with Hong Kong, Japan, China and South Korea. These overseas markets generate the most revenue for U.S. beef exporters.
   Before last year’s BSE announcement by USDA, Hong Kong imported high-quality U.S. beef products for its restaurants, steakhouses and retail outlets. Hong Kong imported HK $622 million of U.S. beef products in 2003, compared to HK$4.8 million of Canadian beef the same year.
   “The U.S. government has built five firewalls that effectively prevent any unsafe beef from entering the market,” Haggard said. “We are hopeful that we can convince the Hong Kong government to grant similar market access to U.S. beef as that accorded Canadian beef.”