[2005/12/31]7 l ?! `& ~! L0 I1 C
Hong Kong Agrees To Open Market to U.S. Beef
) Y' ?9 E' @ wUnited States recovers most of beef trade lost since late 2003' ^8 @+ Z" |9 c) x$ |' B, S
3 {/ B; l- W, WWashington -- The United States has reached agreement with Hong Kong for the
$ `. z2 L* B- E9 K5 Rreopening of Hong Kong's market to U.S. boneless beef from cattle younger$ n* k+ D7 u, i9 C
than 30 months., d3 ?7 O5 L2 S( b2 i
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With the Hong Kong agreement, announced December 29 by U.S. Agriculture
/ p: t# ?! A! c% }4 L: P9 KSecretary Mike Johanns, the United States has recovered 74 percent of its" v" e0 {( c. V# m L( K$ H; b
beef export market that closed down after a case of bovine spongiform
) C1 ?9 W* f3 L' @' v3 qencephalopathy (BSE), also known as mad cow disease, was found in December4 j. n* s1 F+ a, _
2003 in an older U.S. cow imported from Canada.
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The agreement follows a December 11 announcement by the Agriculture& l0 m" F. t* G; F
Department that the United States and Japan agreed to reopen Japanese
# \% ~! \6 L4 x9 W/ V/ ~% | bmarkets to imports of U.S. beef.
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/ `" }) f( p0 W! L9 GIn 2004 and 2005, the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) significantly( B/ f8 y2 }1 F2 U6 l
stepped up its beef cow testing and surveillance program.
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! l8 }" ` b( k8 P3 RPart of the latter effort -- to detect early any apparent case of BSE and to
/ e& ?& v, D D# j7 _/ Kcontain the disease if needed -- has been the implementation of an animal/ N4 X' v: }: C8 [7 \ t1 H4 N
identification system to aid in tracking suspected or diagnosed sick
' h) y, C, ?; C5 {& }animals.
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5 @+ C% B% l8 q* ^9 u"This agreement follows Hong Kong's determination that U.S. control measures
5 [& w9 t7 j" y2 G- ~effectively ensure the safety of our beef," Johanns said in a statement.
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"USDA will continue to focus our efforts on opening additional markets in
+ |8 R# E& [, I @- E: QAsia and around the world by promoting the use of science-based regulations" _: ^2 I- u0 d6 Q& B% J
in global beef trade," he said.
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In 2003, Hong Kong was the fifth largest market for U.S. beef products. |