[2005/12/31]4 I$ X2 Y+ F6 Q$ ?7 |9 G a
Hong Kong Agrees To Open Market to U.S. Beef8 f9 ?$ b# H( K5 N" O" {: W9 \& p$ k
United States recovers most of beef trade lost since late 2003
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Washington -- The United States has reached agreement with Hong Kong for the
% }, m; l! N0 b" j8 j5 kreopening of Hong Kong's market to U.S. boneless beef from cattle younger3 @' e% ~" B* F+ c3 `
than 30 months.; ^+ `. y# z, J1 `- @/ V. E
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With the Hong Kong agreement, announced December 29 by U.S. Agriculture, ?' @ t1 a4 X C8 P
Secretary Mike Johanns, the United States has recovered 74 percent of its* ?& L+ g& t" z( c" u" V
beef export market that closed down after a case of bovine spongiform3 H# h+ E" ]0 J
encephalopathy (BSE), also known as mad cow disease, was found in December
* ^5 U& d" ]0 m* t5 d; h2003 in an older U.S. cow imported from Canada.7 k, z5 p$ r. }
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The agreement follows a December 11 announcement by the Agriculture4 E h% p$ T' v2 n# [/ k' z* G
Department that the United States and Japan agreed to reopen Japanese( u* o a. d# F; i4 i9 \; p+ E* H
markets to imports of U.S. beef.3 b, r: \9 |1 t J1 U0 ?3 V5 p
7 e6 R% h% _. U( O, s: VIn 2004 and 2005, the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) significantly0 \1 U2 ^1 Y$ P% |
stepped up its beef cow testing and surveillance program.% B) S, d: g5 {8 ]+ H' z0 Q- u
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Part of the latter effort -- to detect early any apparent case of BSE and to
! v$ ~ Y2 \+ a# f4 A! Y5 Tcontain the disease if needed -- has been the implementation of an animal! y, z/ j- }* m- y9 j9 O
identification system to aid in tracking suspected or diagnosed sick
[2 B5 _7 H9 U4 E% v- oanimals.
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9 ^, L3 y6 |; k4 V7 K"This agreement follows Hong Kong's determination that U.S. control measures+ A3 W q$ i4 n, y9 `( N
effectively ensure the safety of our beef," Johanns said in a statement., ?* t0 y5 J2 I2 \: v: G* n
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"USDA will continue to focus our efforts on opening additional markets in2 R: X9 R, T" e* ]9 R- u
Asia and around the world by promoting the use of science-based regulations! W, a6 U6 i% k7 B3 S; K$ D
in global beef trade," he said.
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) ?, S* o1 s$ \" IIn 2003, Hong Kong was the fifth largest market for U.S. beef products. |