According to a study carried out by the Kansas Department of Agriculture and K-State Research and Extension, BSE has caused losses of up to $4.7 billion to the US beef industry. The study, "The Economic Impact of BSE on the U.S. Beef Industry" provides an assessment of the economic impact of lost export markets and policy changes affecting cattle procurement and processing.
"The most significant economic impact of BSE is from lost beef export markets," said Kansas Secretary of Agriculture Adrian Polansky. "Alone, they accounted for a $3.2 billion to $4.7 billion revenue loss to the US beef industry last year."
Within days of the US Department of Agriculture's late 2003 announcement that a cow in Washington State had been diagnosed with the disease, 53 countries banned imports of US cattle and beef. In 2003, US beef exports were valued at $3.95 billion and accounted for 9.6% of US commercial beef production.
Five countries - Japan, Mexico, South Korea, Canada and Hong Kong - received 90% of U.S. beef exports in 2003. Mexico and Canada partially resumed beef imports in 2004, but overall the quantity of US exports fell by 82% below 2003 levels. Japan and South Korea have agreed in principle to resume beef imports, but neither country has committed to a date when that will occur.
"Kansas' fifth-largest export market in 2003 was Taiwan, and they resumed beef imports a little more than a week ago" Polansky said. "It's progress, but we really need access to markets like Japan, which accounted for 35% of all US beef export value in 2003."
