Taiwan Lifts Age Limit for Japanese Beef Imports

   Taipei, May 23 (Jiji Press)--Taiwan's food sanitation authorities relaxed regulations on beef imports from Japan on Thursday, allowing imports of beef from cattle of all ages, according to a local media report on Friday.
   "We expect (the move by Taiwan) to lead to an increase in Japanese beef exports to Taiwan," said a Japanese agriculture ministry official.
   Taiwan banned imports of Japanese beef in 2001, in response to the discovery of cattle infected with bovine spongiform encephalopathy, or BSE, in Japan. In 2017, it partially lifted the ban and resumed imports of beef from cattle aged 30 months or younger.
   According to Taiwan's statistics in 2024, beef imported from Japan accounted for only 1.3 pct of its total beef imports, while the share of U.S. beef reached about 39 pct.
   This was apparently because Japanese beef, especially luxury brands, comes from cattle slaughtered aged 30 months or older, according to the Japanese ministry.

(2025/05/23-20:08)