The Battle Over Wagyu Beef | WSJ

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Japanese and Australian farmers are competing for the U.S. wagyu market that will be worth $1.1 billion by 2023. WSJ visits one rancher using traditional methods to produce $200 steaks, and another who has invested in new technology to slash prices. Photo: Mami Morisaki for The Wall Street Journal

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36 COMMENTS

  6. I've cooked and eaten them both. My personal opinion on this is that fat marbling/content isn't everything, it's also how it marbles. So I prefer the Australian version because I still feel I'm eating meat, not just a block of fat.

    Pure Australian Wagyu is better than Wagyu-Angus crossbreed, though.

  7. Aussie steaks are often of lower standards then premium American steaks perhaps because Aussie steaks don't meet USDA, let alone either Japanese standard that is the stickiest in the world commercially.

  9. This is way out of date. Go on a site called Vic's meats and look at Australian fullblood wagyu and the difference is minimal at best. It tastes amazing and costs me $100 for a 300+ grm sirloin or scotch fillet. Australia is smashing the wagyu market and the beef you saw on your program is nothing compared to what we can produce. I am in no way affiliated with this company I just buy their awesome meat.

  11. Would be great if the Aussie farmers and the narrator could pronounce the word correctly. It's really not hard and actually implicitly makes the Japanese farmers' point – the Aussies don't do it as well as the Japanese.

  17. Japan failed to recognize the US as a potential market for wagyu beef. This was due to the American's pre-occupation with staying and eating healthy. This resulted in Americans preferring and paying a higher premium for lean cuts in the last 20-25 years. It's only been recently that the Youtube food community has really turned this whole pre-occupation with lean meat upside down when tales of incredible taste of wagyu beef started coming in from Japan.

  19. I’m had Kobe beef n Australia both very different nothing the same Kobe beef so rich in flavor n fat 3 bite n I’m done but Australian I can eat the whole stake

  25. They're just two completely different products. Even if they were in the same price class you wouldn't prepare them the same or consume them similarly.

    I've never had A5, but A3 when I was in Japan. Three pieces and I had enough. It was just soooooo rich. Like eating beef flavoured butter with barely a chew.

    I've bought, cooked and eaten MSB9 "wagyu" and it just isn't the same. I've eaten hundreds of grams of those steaks at once and could eat more, not so with Japanese wagyu. The experience is completely different.

    I believe the Australian farmers should change the name of their cattle from Wagyu to something closer to the truth…maybe Aagyu? Or as the narrator called it…Wagoo.

  26. It's interesting that the narrator says "Wagyu" in a more Australian way, with American pronunciation making it sound like "Wagoo". It would have taken 10 seconds to look up the proper American way and pronunciation. Or maybe even go for Japanese. Smh

  29. Kobe is a brand known all over the world, but in Japan there are brand wagyu beef all over the country.

    Currently, Miyazaki and Kagoshima are considered to have the highest quality wagyu beef in Japan.

    Foreigners need to update their information on wagyu beef.

  33. Don't see the point of comparison. Even without the high cost, wagyu is so high in fat that it's not for large consumption like steak. That's why they serve you in little pieces in Japan.

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