October 15, 2004

Canada-China Deal Could Launch Beef Trade

Canada may become the first country affected by mad cow disease to be allowed to resume shipping beef products to China.

The deal will re-establish an old trading relationship between the two countries.

Ninety per cent of China's dairy cows are Canadian, the product of years of trade in genetics.

But those ties were severed last May, when China closed its border to Canadian beef. The move follows the discovery of a single cow infected with mad cow disease, or bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE).

However, there are still fears that it may be too late. China's decision to import 100,000 head of cattle from Australia in the past two years has prompted concern the market may be over-saturated.