October 25, 2005

Canada still delivers limited cattle numbers into US
 

Canada still delivered limited cattle numbers into the US since the ban on its cattle was lifted earlier this year. 

The country has delivered 245,291 cattle to US feedlots and slaughter plants since then, US agriculture officials said.  But this number still remained below levels seen before the ban that started due to mad cow disease two years ago, according to industry reports.

Experts said some reasons for this included limited truck availability, threat of further litigation, and increased slaughter capacity in Canada since 2003 that was expected to grow further by the end of 2006. Canada was also only able to export younger cattle due to ongoing trade restrictions.

Canadian Cattlemen's Association said it expected Canadian cattle exports to the US to reach 700,000 to 900,000 head during the first year of resuming trade.

By comparison, the USDA said the number was about 1.3 million and 1.7 million in 2001 and 2002 respectively.