December 26, 2004, marked one year since Japan banned imports of U.S. beef following the discovery of bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE) in an imported animal. The loss of more than 375,000 metric tons (mt) of U.S. beef and beef variety meats created a shortfall in supply that Japan has been unable to fill. Australian exports to Japan were 41 percent higher in 2004 than in 2003, but Australia and other countries cannot supply the volume and types of beef the United States had supplied.