China opens to Canadian beef

[kato]

This is good news. Now we have to find a way to keep enough people in this business to have any beef to sell........


OTTAWA — China will resume importing Canadian beef in a "staged approach," Prime Minister Stephen Harper announced on Thursday night following bilateral discussions with Chinese President Hu Jintao.

Canada is the first country affected by Bovine Spongiform Encephalopathy (BSE), commonly known as mad cow disease, to regain access to the Chinese market for beef.

The first step in this process is access for boneless beef derived from animals less than 30 months old, as well as beef tallow for industrial use.

The two leaders signed the agreement during the first full day of the president's visit to Canada, a tour that will climax Saturday when the Chinese leader participates in the G20 summit being hosted by Harper in Toronto.

"This visit by President Hu confirms that the Canada-China strategic partnership is gaining momentum as we mark 40 years of diplomatic relations and chart a course for the future," Harper said in a release.

The announcement is "very welcome news" for the Canada Beef Export Federation, which has long advocated for the reopening of the Chinese border to Canadian beef since the country's first case of BSE in 2003.

Federation president Ted Haney credits the strengthening of political relationships between Harper and Hu for Thursday's announcement.

"They've liked each other, but they need to love each other," he said referring to Chinese trade negotiations. "I guess this is a sure sign of a little love coming into the relationship."

Haney said Canada exported about $2.2 billion worth of processed beef products to world markets pre-BSE. The value of beef exports in 2009 reached $1.3 billion — or 59 per cent of where they stood in 2003, prior to BSE being found in Canada.

The Chinese market for Canadian beef and tallow is expected to be worth $110 million once full market access is achieved, significantly benefiting the beef industry, he said.

"Between 250,000 to 300,000 cattle will now be raised just to service this mainland China opportunity," Haney said. "This will help our industry move from our current survival mode to one of stability and then growth."

While Haney would not provide an estimate as to when Canadian beef exports to China will surpass the pre-BSE levels in terms of value, he said: "We will be in a much better position in China within one year than where we are today."

Only one market — South Korea — still imposes an outright ban on Canadian beef products.
© Copyright (c) Canwest News Service

Read more: http://www.calgaryherald.com/news/China reopens border Canadian beef/3197616/story.html#ixzz0rywfA6dK

[grassfarmer]

Good news? perhaps - if you believe in the trickle down effect. I don't expect to see the packers bidding aggressively against each other to secure cattle to fill this new market - they already own enough to control the market under their captive supply arrangements.

[kato]

Ah, but maybe someone else would be interested in it??? In that case it would be good news.

As it stands now though, what I see that this is only addressing part of the problem, and if there are no cattle in this country to fill such a market, it is a great big waste of time.

This is the biggest issue I have right now. While the government is running all over the world to open markets for Canadian beef, they are ignoring the fact that Canadian cattle producers just can't get out of the business fast enough.

Why can they not see this??? It's like they're blind in one eye. It's enough to make you want to slap someone upside the head. If we had all the market access in the world, it wouldn't mean a thing to us if we were no longer raising cattle.

Market access doesn't fix anything if there is no product to sell.

[grassfarmer]

I agree kato - "market access" is worthless if there are no cattle to sell because there are no producers. They need to fix the marketplace first and foremost, make it a competitive marketplace with more buyers for cattle. Competition works - more bidders would lead to higher prices and some profitability for producers. Producers would not be exiting the industry if they could make a sustainable profit.
All it takes is for the Government to enforce their existing anti-competition laws. It doesn't require money it requires political will and a backbone - something our politicians seem to lack.

[Sawbones]

Not just our politicians GF but the leaders of our so-called democratic producer organizations ... or maybe that is still politics... interested more in their organization than the producers they are supposed to represent

[burnt]

Sawbones Reply posted Jun 27, 2010 20:05 Not just our politicians GF but the leaders of our so-called democratic producer organizations ... or maybe that is still politics... interested more in their organization than the producers they are supposed to represent

This is worth repeating. Right on target.

[wd40]

I can tell you what the beef industry leaders are most interested in. The new side show with the new leader thats has just been touring the country told me with glee just a few short years ago the "he (cattle buyer/feedlot opp) had gotten the commission from one group of calves 5 times". But I guess that's free enterprise hugh.