June 30, 2006

 

US cattle producers support Canada's beef import revision

 

 

US cattle producers said Thursday (Jun 29) they supported Canada's move earlier in the day to reopen its border to a broader range of cattle and beef products.

 

Spokesmen for R-CALF United Stockgrowers of America and the National Cattlemen's Beef Association (NCBA) voiced their support for the move.

 

Effective immediately, all classes of US cattle born after 1999, including those for breeding purposes, are eligible for entry on prescribed certification requirements. Beef from cattle older than 30 months of age also will be eligible for import from the US.

 

The border was closed to these cattle and products when the US discovered its first case of bovine spongiform encephalopathy, or mad cow disease, in December 2003.

 

Joe Schuele, director of trade media for the NCBA, said the members of his group supported the announcement because the move was based on good, established science.

 

"Whenever our trading partners rely on science rather than the political process, US cattlemen are winners," Schuele said.

 

In addition to Thursday's announcement, the NCBA supports Canada's proposed lifting of restrictions on US cattle imports because of blue tongue, a viral cattle disease. The restriction is something the NCBA has been proposing for years, and the group hopes to see the lifting of restrictions because of anaplasmosis later in the year, Schuele said.

 

It is possible officials from the two countries will try to negotiate a similar move from the US to open its border a bit more, Schuele said, but NCBA members have indicated they are not willing to support such a move until the blue tongue and anaplasmosis issues are resolved.

 

Bill Bullard, chief executive of R-CALF USA, said Canada's move to reopen its border to US beef and cattle makes sense, given the different risk profiles between Canada and the US.

 

"We have done far more extensive testing and have no indication of the BSE agent circulating in our cattle herd after the 1997 feed ban," Bullard said. "The two cases we did detect were over 10 years of age--born well before the feed ban."

 

"In contrast, Canada has detected half of its cases in cattle born after the 1997 feed ban," Bullard said, "with two of them born about three years later (than the ban) in 2000".

 

Bullard said he hoped the US would not use Canada's move to relax its own ban on Canadian cattle older than 30 months of age and the meat from such cattle. The US currently has met or is very close to meeting World Animal Health Organization rules for its most favourable risk profile, but Canada would have to wait until 2011 for such a designation, provided no more cattle with BSE are detected.

 

"We would hope the US would not repeat the politically based quid-pro-quo that it offered to encourage Japan to open its market," Bullard said, referring to the US move to allow imports of Japanese beef in order to get US beef into the Japanese market.