[2005/12/31]2 o& K. i0 ]3 r8 K. l# {) P* k r
Hong Kong Agrees To Open Market to U.S. Beef! z W4 C, C, g$ s, l/ F
United States recovers most of beef trade lost since late 2003( M8 X, K) l/ m; W o( H+ z4 O
3 X% N5 Z# h6 f' `! v9 b6 aWashington -- The United States has reached agreement with Hong Kong for the4 `5 E" ?, D7 f s; X* Q
reopening of Hong Kong's market to U.S. boneless beef from cattle younger' u, k1 g& h0 g3 N( G# f
than 30 months., [% ]1 a. A- q0 E
% b$ M5 g7 l! O9 b, T% ~- KWith the Hong Kong agreement, announced December 29 by U.S. Agriculture4 ]6 [! A# b3 c6 s# q: }1 G' o
Secretary Mike Johanns, the United States has recovered 74 percent of its! l) J; _6 ` N2 D4 y
beef export market that closed down after a case of bovine spongiform. E9 m5 J! E2 \ U' M/ u9 M
encephalopathy (BSE), also known as mad cow disease, was found in December m# x7 X* h+ h$ b
2003 in an older U.S. cow imported from Canada.
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& |" [: d5 ], X2 n, h. ]5 N, AThe agreement follows a December 11 announcement by the Agriculture" Z; |1 C# U; O) t2 j
Department that the United States and Japan agreed to reopen Japanese
, I6 e6 e% \5 G5 Rmarkets to imports of U.S. beef.
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$ h% S7 r5 G+ cIn 2004 and 2005, the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) significantly* m" z6 f" _+ a! W1 W
stepped up its beef cow testing and surveillance program./ H" n. \6 f5 o5 m" l* v
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Part of the latter effort -- to detect early any apparent case of BSE and to
% O" t% _0 s$ a* qcontain the disease if needed -- has been the implementation of an animal a+ p2 b0 @# d7 ? A s
identification system to aid in tracking suspected or diagnosed sick
9 p! j* p( }5 S+ P: D5 E3 Canimals.
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"This agreement follows Hong Kong's determination that U.S. control measures
3 Z/ F7 K& G1 t) f3 I! @, [3 Beffectively ensure the safety of our beef," Johanns said in a statement.
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# i! \8 i8 b1 M/ h"USDA will continue to focus our efforts on opening additional markets in5 [# T- X, P3 L
Asia and around the world by promoting the use of science-based regulations5 F$ ] r$ C" W. `- u. D
in global beef trade," he said.' j* e. {: M- W4 K K0 t3 r. Y
' X# s) [8 I" oIn 2003, Hong Kong was the fifth largest market for U.S. beef products. |