HIMEJI, Hyogo -- Wagyu brand Kobe beef is popular overseas as well, especially among wealthy people.
Starting with Macao in February 2012, the destination for exports of the Hyogo Prefecture product has now expanded to 23 countries and regions, with the export quantity reaching 694 heads, or 49 tons, in fiscal 2018.
By region and country, 39% of exports are destined for the European Union, followed by the United States and Canada at 18%, Mexico at 11%, Taiwan at 9% and Macao at 8%. Exports to the EU, U.S. and Canada are high due to the wagyu beef boom.
However, to increase exports to Europe and the United States, producers had to overcome a big hurdle.
Products sold as Kobe beef must come from Tajima beef cattle that are born, raised and processed all in the prefecture. However, there were no facilities in the prefecture that met strict sanitation standards set by Europe and the U.S. As an exception for these countries, beef was exported after being processed at a facility in Kagoshima Prefecture.
Getting to Kagoshima Prefecture takes more than 10 hours by land, and transportation costs can be high while cows lose weight due to stress. As a result, producers and others in the business experienced a decline in profit.
The hopes that a facility in Hyogo Prefecture that meets the U.S. and European standards would be built came true, and a new meat processing center was established in Himeji in the prefecture in 2017 by a private company comprising of operators who produce, process and distribute wagyu beef.
The new facility met the sanitation standards set by the U.S. in May last year, also by the EU in July. Subsequently, exports of the beef from the prefecture began in earnest.
Of all wagyu beef, Kobe beef is regarded as exceptionally high quality in terms of umami and aroma among consumers in Europe and the U.S., according to Masataka Ikeda, 65, who heads the company that set up the new processing facility. Some in the Kobe beef business are delighted with the new facility, saying it will boost exports further.
There is an advantage to this. In December last year, China, the world's most populous nation, decided to lift its ban on Japanese beef imports for the first time in about 20 years. China suspended Japanese beef imports in 2001 following the outbreak of bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE).
"Currently, only about 10% of the meat processed at our center is for export," Ikeda said. "We hope to increase the amount to more than 40% in total, with an expectation to boost the export quantity to China."
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