Post projects that higher beef prices through 2015 could limit total Japanese beef consumption (imported and domestic) and rebalance meat consumption towards lower-priced beef cuts and more pork / poultry. Porcine Epidemic Diarrhea virus (PEDV) continued to constrain Japanese and North American pork production in the first half of 2014, leading Japanese pork processors to accelerate supply diversification, to hedge against further price increases, and to nearly trigger the special safeguard (SSG) as they rushed to secure needed supplies. As Japanese and North American production begins to recover from the worst effects of PEDV, Russia’s import ban on EU pork may reinforce patterns that emerged as a result of PEDV as EU producers seek buyers for their additional exportable supply through summer 2015.
