The Agricultural Ministers of Australian and Japan met in Japan this week, ahead of the 13th round of Free Trade Agreement negotiations between the two countries. The Japanese media reported on the friendly but cautious stance of Minister Kano, who emphasized the sensitivity of key agricultural items including beef.

December has been a busy month for Japanese foreign trade officials, with a range of trade discussions; including Trans Pacific Partnership negotiation in Malaysia; Japan/China/Korea FTA study committee in Korea; WTO conference in Switzerland and AJFTA talks in Canberra.

In the Japanese wholesale market this week, the trade reported on discounted Japanese domestic beef attracting end-users, while the chilled Australian beef business lacked sparks. The slightly lower A$ eased some manufacturing beef prices this week, but they still remained higher than Japanese expectations.
 

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