A special report just issued by the Rabobank Food & Agribusiness Research and Advisory (FAR) group indicates the consequences of the earthquake and tsunami to Japan’s agricultural and food industry could be dire. While the full impact of the earth quake and radiation are not yet understood, the report—which estimates the potential impact on six major sectors of Japan’s agricultural industry—projects that food safety concerns and supply shortage will limit exports and cause imports to rise.
The positive trend for U.S. beef exports continued in February, with an increasingly large portion of total U.S. production going to international customers while returning more revenue to America’s red meat industry, according to statistics compiled by the U.S. Meat Export Federation (USMEF).