February 27, 2012

 

China reopens market to Canada's beef producers

 

 

An agreement was signed with between Canada's Prime Minister Stephen Harper's and China's Prime Minister Wen Jiabao to permit Canadian tallow, a rendered form of beef processed from suet, to be exported to the country of 1.33 billion people.

 

China's decision to reopen its doors to Canadian beef means greener pastures for the Peace Country.

 

The protocol, signed between the Canadian Food Inspection Agency and China's equivalent agency, allows immediate access of tallow into the Chinese market.

 

This is yet another step of the 2010 co-operative agreement between the two countries which aims to restore beef exports from Canada, after the 2003 discovery of BSE, known as mad cow decease.

 

President of the Canadian Cattle Association, Travis Toews of Beaverlodge, travelled with Harper during the highly publicised trip.

 

"The Peace Country isn't removed from the economic benefits of the cattle industry across Canada," he said.

 

He said tallow export has the potential to be a US$50 million export over the next few years, and added it has the potential to add US$3 to US$5 a head to cattle prices.

 

This agreement is good news for producers, and although Canada is still feeling the effects of the 2003 BSE breakout, beef prices are flirting with all-time records.

 

"To be competitive, we have to have competitive market access into every major beef importing region in the world and...we're getting close.," he said.

 

High beef prices are a reality despite "recessionary demand," and high feed grain prices.

 

China is an important market for Canada, and Toews said China is clamouring for more Canadian products.

 

"The Chinese people eat very little beef, they have a growing middle class, but still a modest middle class, and as their economy develops and their population begins to have a higher disposable income, their appetite for a higher quality of protein will also accompany that," Toews said.

 

This new agreement comes in the wake of a May 2011 agreement in which China opened up its doors to deboned beef from animals under 30 months of age.

 

"This industry is heading into some good times."

 

And with rough economic times felt around the world, Toews said beef producers need to enter into as many markets as possible.

 

"The market is a bit of a fickle mistress, so some months tal-low into China might be incredible, and other months tallow will go to another country," he said. "But since we've slowly expanded our market access for beef products around the world, it gives our processors an extra bidder, and that's critical to maximise product value."