Why Wagyu Beef Is So Expensive | So Expensive

this is Wagyu beef one of the most expensive meats in the world produced in Japan and prized for its rich marbling and buttery taste high-grade Wagyu can cost up to $200 per pound and the cows themselves can sell for as much as thirty thousand dollars but what is it that makes the meat so expensive [Music] the term Wagyu literally translates to Japanese cows and it generally refers to four main breeds these cows were bred for physical endurance giving them more intramuscular fat cells the fat is distributed more evenly throughout their muscle which is why Wagyu beef looks pink and taste so tender and the Japanese government tightly regulates Wagyu production to protect the value and quality of the meat Wagyu is graded on two main factors how much meat can be yielded and the quality of the mottled fat only a three to a5 Wagyu is certified for sale in Japan and the higher the grade the higher the price where GU beef has gained almost legendary status and there are many myths about Wagyu farms and the way the animals are treated from getting daily massages to being fed beer but these often aren't true the cows are raised very differently in each region and by different farmers but they're often raised by a breeder until they're about ten months old and then sold at auction to a fattening father by the time the calves are sold at auction they can already fetch 40 times the price of us cattle the fattening farmer will keep the animals in small pens and feed them a mixture of fiber and high-energy concentrate made from rice wheat and hay they're often fed this three times a day for almost two years until the animals are almost 50% fat only the pregnant cows and breeding cattle are allowed to graze on pasture the length of the fattening process and the import prices of the huge amount of concentrated feed increases the cost of the beef and over this fattening period each cow Elite 5 tons of feed if and when a cow goes to auction it can sell for as much as $30,000 comparatively Black Angus cattle which are considered the cream of the crop in countries like the United States and Australia typically don't sell for more than $3,000 and depending on the kind the Wagyu can fetch close to $200 per pound high marbling is the common goal but the approach varies by farm and area while there are more than 300 varieties of Wagyu available the most notable cuts come from ten regions one of the most expensive cuts is Matsusaka Wagyu from me a Prefecture made exclusively convergent female cows and highly prized for its tenderness in 2002 one Matsusaka cow sold for 50 million yen or roughly $400,000 however the best-known cart of Wagyu is Kobe beef which comes from the city of Kobe in Kyoto prefecture and is made exclusively from steers or castrated bulls although Kobe is commonly seen on us restaurant menus customers should be wary of items like Kobe burgers as authentic Kobe beef is too tended to be formed into a patty several u.s. restaurants are actually serving hybrid wangus beef from domestically raised Wagyu and Angus cows the highest-ranking Wagyu is a five Miyazaki a two-time winner of the Wagyu Olympics a 50 M is a key will cost you $100 or more per pound at Sakura in New York City is the Wagyu of choice the restaurant is best known for serving it in an $85 katsu Sando a popular Japanese style sandwich on a busy night we probably serve about 25 of them at $85 [Music] because what you soul finds in the u.s. yes we do have a number of customers coming to us just to try the Wagyu sometimes two top will come and just order the sandal by itself there are a lot of tariffs and quotas on Japanese beef imports and it's actually not allowed to import live cattle so it is very difficult to source Wagyu so is it worth it we decide to have our team give a five Miyazaki Wagyu a try and there might be something even more sought-after than the a five miyazaki hell does the rarest steak in the world Oliver who comes from cattle raised on pressed dry dalek peels mixed into their feet it was developed in 2006 by a Japanese cattle farmer named Misaki Ishi only about 2,200 of these cows were slaughtered in 2018 and they all live on the island of shudder Shima home to Japan's oldest olive oil plantation this special Wagyu is said to be extra tender and can cost anywhere from 120 to over $300 for a steak while waggish popularity grows worldwide the domestic picture is a little different wedgies popularity in Japan is actually slumping slightly and the country imported more US beef than any other country as of 2017 the value of Japanese exports of Wagyu has risen over 200 percent in the past five years and as Japan's population ages farmers are struggling to keep up with the increased global demand raising prices even more but the high cost hasn't discouraged international sales in 2013 Japan exported 5 billion yen worth of Wagyu last year exports hit twenty four point seven billion yen and many producers are now getting halal certifications for their slaughterhouses so they can export to Muslim countries however Japan may eventually have some competition when it comes to producing high-quality Wagyu countries like the US Australia and the UK have been working on breeding their own Wagyu usually relying on crossbreeding most British American and Australian Wagyu are only 50% purebred but that may be changing soon in the UK for example the Wagyu breeders Association now registers DNA verified full-blood Wagyu Bulls and certifies authentic British wagging new methods and increased regulation may result in a product as good as the original which means that as soon could be a lot more Wagyu that costs a lot less [Music]

Channel: Business Insider

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Keywords: japanese food, cows, japan, Video, UK, Original, japanese beef, wagyu, Business News, beef cattle, why?, exports, wagyu beef, so expensive, expensive, imports, beef, cattle, explainer, Business Insider

Id: 9CTzhqVHmww

Length: 6min 29sec (389 seconds)

Published: Sat Jul 27 2019