Japan opens market to Argentine beef from vaccinated regions

Argentina and Japan have reached an agreement regarding sanitary conditions that will allow beef and tongue produced in foot-and-mouth disease-free zones with vaccination to enter the Japanese market. This agreement extends access beyond the southern regions of Argentina—which have been permitted to export since 2018—to include the northern regions, covering provinces such as Buenos Aires, Santa Fe, Córdoba, Entre Ríos, La Pampa, and Corrientes.

The negotiations, which began approximately two decades ago, intensified recently following a conclusion by Japan's Animal Health Subcommittee that the risk of introducing foot-and-mouth disease via boneless beef from northern Argentina was minimal. While the agreement marks a significant milestone for the Argentine livestock industry and provides access to a market valued at over US$3.1 billion annually, challenges remain. Argentine exporters face higher tariffs compared to competitors like Australia and the United States, and individual exporting slaughterhouses must still be officially authorized for shipment.