American BSE blow is Australia's gain

BAD NEWS for the American beef industry in the form of mad cow disease is good news for one of its key rivals.

Australia's A$4bn-a-year (£1.7bn) beef industry is launching a major sales drive to exploit the crisis triggered by the outbreak of BSE in the US.

Canberra is to provide increased financial support to help its beef exporters promote the safety and quality of their product abroad, especially in Asia, a region that has long been a key market for US sales.

A series of trade missions by Australian producers to South-East Asia, the Middle East and South America will kick off next month.

Some Australian farmers say that they have noticed a surge in beef demand from South Korea and Japan since Christmas. These countries are among 37 that have suspended US beef shipments after the discovery last month that a cow in Washington State was suffering from BSE.

'They are concerned about supply at this stage,' said Allan Teys, an executive at Australian exporter Teys Brothers, who is also chairman of the Australian Processor Council.

Australia exported 926,400 tons of beef to about 100 countries last year. South Korea and Japan accounted for 84,800 tons and 238,000 tons respectively. Industry experts say Australian beef sales in Asia could now double.