The president of the U.S. Meat Export Federation says the U.S. needs to address the growing Asian demand for traceability in meat products.
Phil Seng was in Japan recently, meeting with Japanese consumers and journalists. “The Japanese use their cell phones and they can trace the product when they go in the store, for their domestic product,” Seng explains. “We see traceability, whether it’s Japan, Korea or all over Asia—this is just the price of admission into these markets. All of our major competitors have traceability, so we need to meet the changing needs of the world’s consumers. I think we need to take a look at this and address it very directly.”
On another matter, Seng says it’s still too early to say how Japan’s new ruling Democratic Party will treat U.S. beef imports. But Seng anticipates they could be tougher to deal with than past administrations in Japan.
Seng made his comments on NCBA’s Cattlemen to Cattlemen television program.
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