The primary breed of cattle found on Japanese farms is the native wagyu. Hybrids are second, and the Holstein-Friesian breed is third.
Japan is not self-sufficient in terms of beef production. Domestic production is around 470,000 tonnes per year, while demand is around 1 million 320,000 tonnes. This indicates that Japan’s yearly imports of beef and beef products total around 850,000 tonnes.
EXPORT FROM EUROPE
Japan permits the export of beef and beef offal from cattle under 30 months of age originating from most EU countries. Although the Economic Partnership Agreement between the European Union and Japan entered into force in February 2019, exports of such products occur under conditions agreed upon between European and Japanese veterinary authorities.
All entities that export beef to Japan must adhere to the Export Verification Programme (EVP) guidelines.
Tariffs
In accordance with the provisions stated in the EU-Japan Economic Partnership Agreement, the applicable customs duties are as follows:
Table 1. Customs duties for EU countries
* Within 15 years of entry into force, i.e. in 2034.
| Customs code | 0202 |
| General customs duty | 38,5% |
| Present customs duty | 25,8% |
| Target customs duty* | 9% |
Export volume
The principal exports from EU countries to Japan include frozen beef (CN 0202) and offal. Due to the considerable geographic distance, it is not feasible to transport fresh beef (CN 0201) from Europe to the Japanese market. The data below represent the volume of exports in kilograms from EU countries between 2020 and 2023.
Table 2. Exports of beef from EU countries (CN 0202)1
Poland is by far the largest exporter of frozen beef among EU countries, accounting for more than 70% of export volumes to the Japanese market.
| Country | 2020 | 2021 | 2022 | 2023 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Austria | 89,856 | 194,968 | 143,501 | 0,100 |
| Croatia | – | 18,930 | – | – |
| Denmark | 48,420 | 9,314 | 0,751 | 0,144 |
| France | 13,200 | 46,318 | 93,999 | 11,681 |
| Ireland | 3,230,999 | 2,573,710 | 2,225,030 | 1,061,575 |
| Italy | 31,306 | 146,898 | 99,952 | 13,784 |
| Lithuania | – | – | 22,278 | – |
| Netherlands | 34,489 | 82,369 | 96,081 | 76,079 |
| Poland | 3,362,523 | 9,243,990 | 7,205,129 | 3,019,336 |
| Portugal | – | – | 0,160 | 0,011 |
| Spain | 22,254 | 584,004 | 924,256 | 352,211 |
| Total | 6,833,047 | 12,900,501 | 10,811,137 | 4,534,921 |
We encourage you to download the information brochure detailing the qualities of European beef.
1 All data is sourced from https://trade.ec.europa.eu/access-to-markets/en/statistics [online, accessed on 13.09.2024].
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