USMEF Applauds Taiwan’s Reopening to U.S. Lamb

For the first time since 2003, U.S. lamb exports have regained access to Taiwan. U.S. lamb lost access to several key markets, including Taiwan, following the first U.S. case of bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE) in December 2003. The market closures were due to concerns related to scrapie, a disease similar to BSE. Asian markets that remain closed to U.S. lamb include Japan and South Korea.

Dr. Dennis Stiffler, chief executive officer of Mountain States Rosen and vice chair of the U.S. Meat Export Federation (USMEF), says Taiwan’s announcement provides a much-needed lift for U.S. lamb exports. He notes that a proceeding is also underway in Japan in which regulators are examining the possibility of restoring access for U.S. lamb in the Japanese market.


TRANSCRIPT:

Joe Schuele: Since 2003, U.S. lamb has lacked access to several key Asian markets. But Taiwan has now reopened to U.S. lamb. Dr. Dennis Stiffler is CEO of Mountain States Rosen, a producer-owned processor and distributor of lamb and veal products. Stiffler also serves as vice chair of the U.S. Meat Export Federation Board of Directors. He has more on the Taiwan market opening in this USMEF report.

Dennis Stiffler: When the BSE event happened in 2003, lamb was banned from several of those markets due to impact of lamb scrapie, so we have had limited access over the years. We’re really excited about the opportunity to get into Taiwan. Beef and pork have enjoyed a good market, a growth market in there, so we think with its diversity of cultures, the types of products that their consumers desire, there’s a real opportunity for lamb. The lamb industry does feed grain, somewhere between 30 and days on feed, and that does put a unique difference in our product compared to some of the other sources of lamb from other countries.

Joe Schuele: A proceeding is also underway in Japan in which regulators are examining whether to reopen that market to U.S. lamb, which Stiffler says would be another important breakthrough.

Dennis Stiffler: Japan was an excellent market for lamb pre-BSE, and so the opportunity to get back into it, as they have been able to open it up to beef, is very important to our export initiative in the United States. They’ve got a great consuming base – they like their red meat, they like the grain-fed product. It’s just a real strong opportunity to grow our business on the export side for lamb.

Joe Schuele: For more on this and other trade issues, please visit USMEF.org. For the U.S. Meat Export Federation, I’m Joe Schuele.