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Influenza not slowing U.S. pork’s momentum in Japan
While some foreign markets have closed to U.S. pork because of the H1N1 flu scare, Japanhas remained fully open to pork imports.
The U.S. Meat Export Federation’s Japan director, Gregory Hanes in Tokyo, says the Japanese government has done an excellent job of easing any unfounded fears that may have associated the influenza with pork consumption.
“The Japanese government had probably actually learned something from the way they had handled the BSE situation, and handled this situation much, much better,” says Hanes.
Hanes says restaurant sales of pork in Japan have slowed somewhat, but that’sdue to the sluggish economy.
“Some food service companies are reporting overall sales being down maybe five to ten percent,” he says, “but they also stress that it isn’t because of the flu, but because of the current global economic situation.”
Through January and February of this year, pork exports to Japan were up 23 percent in volume and 35 percent in value, over the same period last year.
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