Canadian Cattlemen's Association Says China Ban Hurts, But It's Been Worse For Pork

Sep 09, 2019

Canada stopped issuing meat export certificates upon China's request back in June, after Chinese customs claimed to discover a shipment of non-Canadian pork exhibiting technical irregularities and fraudulently certified as Canadian.

Canadian Cattlemen's Association Senior Manager of Government and International Relations, Fawn Jackson, says the beef industry has been able to weather the storm better than pork.

"We're not exporting as much beef to China as they export pork, but we also have access to a number of other markets around the world including those in the Asian region."

Through the CPTPP trade agreement, Canada's beef industry has seen growth in the Japanese market according to Jackson, as well as in Europe through the CETA trade agreement.

However, she says the big concern comes from the lost opportunity in China, as there's strong demand for Canadian beef.

"Canada has done what we need to do on our side to reinforce our export systems, and so now we're waiting to hear back from China that those are recognized and that we're ready to resume trade."

In the meantime, she says they've established a working group with Government staff and red meat industry stakeholders, looking for a solution to resume trade with China and diversify exports, similar to the group established by the canola industry.

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