May 13, 2010
Canada seeks full access to Saudi beef market
Canada, which lost millions of dollars in beef trade opportunities with Saudi Arabia following the outbreak of the mad cow disease, is now seeking full access to the lucrative Saudi market.
The ban was partially lifted a few months back, but the Saudi side only allowed imports of boneless beef products from Canada, a major beef exporting country that has put in place stringent bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE) prevention and control measures.
This was disclosed by Luis Levesque, Canadian deputy minister of international trade, following his talks with senior Saudi officials yesterday (May 12). Levesque gave an overview of the Saudi-Canadian commercial relation with special reference to bilateral trade ties. Richard Dubuc, Canadian commercial counsellor, and Maher Doleh, second secretary, were also present.
The Canadian deputy minister was speaking after holding wide-ranging talks with the chief of the Saudi Food & Drug Authority (SFDA); assistant deputy minister for commerce and industry; president of the Saudi Arabian General Investment Authority (SAGIA); and other senior officials. He said that the purpose of his visit was to set in motion the bilateral trade relation to a level of ''win-win proposition'' for both sides.
Levesque also said that Canada's BSE prevention and control systems have been developed in accordance to the recommendations made by the World Organisation for Animal Health (OIE). Saudi Arabia was Canada's sixth-largest market for exports of beef prior to a BSE-related ban imposed in 2003. The Canada Beef Export Federation estimates that full market access to Saudi Arabia would allow Canadian beef exporters to re-establish previous export levels worth nearly CAD6 million (US$5.9 million).
''We have taken very strong measures to check BSE as per OIE guidelines,'' said the deputy minister. ''We are also working to boost trade relations in livestock sector with the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) as a bloc,'' said Levesque, referring to the possibility of holding negotiations for free trade agreement and general investment protection accord with the Gulf states.
Only Kuwait has signed a foreign investment treaty with Canada so far.
On G20 summit, he pointed out that the G20 Toronto Summit will be held on June 26-27 2010. This meeting of advanced and emerging economies, to be attended by the Kingdom, will help stabilise the global financial market. The deputy trade minister also expressed strong hopes to boost cooperation in the agriculture sector with Saudi Arabia and the Gulf states. The initiative in the agriculture sector calls for a building of integrative partnership with Riyadh since Canada has high agricultural potential, he added.
