The Japanese beef industry : some recent changes and future prospects

On 1 April 1991 the beef quotas that had previously protected the Japanese beef industry from imports were removed and replaced by a 70 per cent tariff. This is one of a number of recent changes in Japan's beef policy. The use of the quota together with a price stabilization policy had resulted in the average Japanese consumer facing prices that were considerably higher than those on the international market. The objective of this thesis is to examine the economic effects of the key changes in Japanese beef policy as well as considering some of the most important earlier policies. An estimation of the consequences of these policies for consumer, producers and Japan in general are provided using the methodology developed by Tsakok (1990) of the World Bank. The results indicate that the new tariff policy will place a smaller burden on consumers in Japan than the earlier system of quotas.