TOKYO — Japan’s wagyu beef industry recorded a 20% year-on-year drop of exports to the U.S. in April, prompting producers to turn their attention to markets in Europe, the Middle East and elsewhere.
The decline follows an across-the-board 10% tariff imposed by U.S. President Donald Trump that same month. Japan’s beef exports in 2024 totaled 64.8 billion yen ($446 million), up 12% from the previous year and a record high for the second consecutive year, according to the Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries.
