Japanese consumers in 2004 bought more Australian beef than is grown locally, as restrictions on US imports and rising prices forced meat buyers to look for alternative sources, giving Australia 44% of the total share of the Japanese beef market volume.
The exports reached an estimated 393,471 metric tonnes last year compared to 325,699 in 2000 and Australia is currently the world’s largest beef exporter by revenue. Japan’s share equalled 383,223 tonnes during 2004.
The success of Australian meat in Japan is largely due to the Industry Collaborative Agreement (ICA), a promotional campaign designed to increase the interest in Australian red meat in Japan. Some of the activities involved include media advertising, in-store cooking demonstrations, point of sale promotional material, seminars, research projects etc. The ICA programmes have already been used by other large beef exporters including Korea, Japan, USA, the Middle East and South East Asia.
