Exports of US beef to Japan jumped by 71 percent year-on-year during April, according to Meat and Livestock Australia’s latest Meat and Livestock Weekly market report.

MLA said the beef imports from the US into Japan during April climbed to 10,784 tonnes for the month of April, largely assisted by the weak US dollar.

At the same time exports of Australian beef for the month declined by 4pc year-on-year to 32,089 tonnes.

While exports of Australian frozen beef increased, this was offset by a significant fall in chilled product, MLA said.

In a US Drovers Cattle Network report, the US Meat Export Federation recently attributed the growth in US beef sales to Japan to short livestock inventories in the market, the strength of the Japanese Yen relative to the US dollar, and aggressive buying by Japanese importers in anticiaption of continued rises in production and transportation costs.

USMEF chief executive officer Philip Seng anticipated that US beef sales to Japan for the full 2011 year would exceed last year’s sales by 25pc.

The MLA report said frozen briskets accounted for 42pc of total US beef imports to Japan during April, followed by chilled shoulder/round cuts (25pc of total).

For the year to date, US exports to Japan had increased by 54pc so far on 2010 levels to 32,627 tonnes swt.

Total calendar year to date beef imports into Japan were 164,198 tonnes swt, up 10pc from 2010.

Australia's share in the imported Japanese beef market currently stands at 68pc, followed by the US at 20pc.