The phrase is quite literal: “Wa” means Japanese and “gyu” means cow. This Japanese meat is considered the most expensive in the world and can cost around $200 per pound and a cow can be sold at $30,000. But what makes this Japanese beef so expensive ?
Wagyu beef is a special Japanese breed of beef cattle which have extreme tie-dyed-like marbling, or intramuscular fat cells, which makes their meat rich, juicy, tender, and thus more expensive and in-demand.The fat is distributed more evenly throughout their muscle, which is why wagyu beef looks pink and tastes so tender.
The price of Wagyu beef is so high due to 2 major factors:
The fattening process:
The cows are raised by a breeder until they're about 10 months old and then sold at auction to a fattening farmer.The fattening farm will feed the animals 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.
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 will eat 5 tons of feed.
2. The Japanese export regulations:
The Japanese government tightly regulates wagyu production to protect the value and quality of the meat. Since 1997 the Japanese state has enforced a law banning the export of livestock to control the supply on the international market and to guarantee the best quality of the meat.
Although Japan is still maintaining a firm grip on the Wagyu market, many countries like the US, Australia and UK are now trying to produce their own Wagyu cattles to meet the increasing demand on the market. Japan's aging population is unintentionally creating a small space for the competitors and we might be seeing an increase in the international offer which might lead to reduced prices in the meat business.