Ban on import of US beef is lifted

QATAR has lifted a ban on import of US beef, a senior US embassy official in Doha said yesterday.

“We received an official notice from the National Health Authority (NHA) today that cleared the US beef or beef variety meat (BVM) of any harmful content,” the official of the Commercial Service Office at the US embassy told Gulf Times.

The ban has been in effect since the first outbreak of bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE) or mad cow disease in December 2003.

The US Department of Commerce’s assistant secretary, Israel Hernandez, who was in Doha last week, had blamed Qatar’s stringent measures for the delay in lifting the ban.

According to the US Meat Export Federation (USME) market profile for Middle East, the buyers of US beef recognise the US as the producer of the best quality beef, though they have perceptions that it is expensive while safety concerns still need to be addressed. The US ‘Halal’ certification is also sometimes questioned.

Gulf countries have proposed standardised import procedures that will take effect on January 1.While this simplifies the preparation of documents, “adoption of the most restrictive requirements could impede trade,” according to the USMEF.

But with more hypermarkets and US food franchises being set up in the Gulf, demand for US beef has been increasing.

Kemal Farag, general manager of fast food restaurant TGI Friday at Doha’s Villagio Mall, said: “We recently brought 100% US certified Angus beef, since our customers were insisting on it, even though it’s very expensive with not much profit margin.”