US beef industry strives to regain its market share

Two weeks since the resumption of beef imports from the US, local importers, restaurateurs and retailers are gearing up to take back the market share US beef lost over the past 16 months.

Since US beef imports were banned in December 2003 after the discovery of a case of mad cow disease in Washington State, Taiwan's beef market has been reshuffled, with combined imports from New Zealand and Australia taking a majority share.

Taiwan is the US' sixth-largest beef importer. Imports amounted to US$325 million in 2003.

"To take back our meat-loving customers and the market share, we will launch a series of marketing initiatives around the nation to promote US beef," said Davis Wu (吳秋衡), director of the US Meat Export Federation's Taiwan office, at a press conference yesterday.

The conference also featured a group of five-star hotel chefs showcasing their skill in preparing US beef.

To retake its market position, the federation plans to host promotions and free sampling activities in hypermarkets, as well as offering incentives and assistance for hotels and restaurant owners to put US beef back on the menu, Wu said.

Japan's biggest beef-bowl restaurant chain, Yoshinoya, was noted as an example of a company suffering declining sales and profits after it was forced to remove its trademark beef-on-rice dish from its menu more than a year ago.

Asked whether this erstwhile strong supporter is expected to resume its procurement of the long-banned US beef, Peter Cho (卓博富), the federation's customer service manager, gave an uncertain answer.

But the federation is confident that, by the end of this year, US beef products will achieve 50 percent of the sales volume recorded in 2003, Cho said.

Carrefour Taiwan, the nation's largest hypermarket operator with 34 outlets countrywide, has imported 15 tonnes of US beef in the past two weeks, of which it has sold 80 percent. Carrefour sold around 60 tonnes of US beef in 2003.

"Customers have given a positive response, but we'll still maintain beef imports from New Zealand and Australia as required by the market need," Carrefour's public relations manager Jurene Hsiao (蕭安雯) said.

Currently, only boneless meat cut from cattle younger than 30 months can enter the market. Cattle parts such as intestines and tonsils, which have a higher risk of being contaminated, are still prohibited.

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Japan might consider imports of younger US cattle