October 26, 2004

Canada Hopeful After US-Japan Beef Deal

A tentative deal for Japan to reopen its markets to beef from the US by next summer would further open the door for Canadian beef exports to the Asian nation.
 
On the weekend, the US and Japan announced a deal that would see Japan accepting US beef products from cattle younger than 21 months next year. Many details still need to be worked out.
 
Canadian Beef Export Federation president Ted Haney was quoted as saying that Canada reached a similar understanding with Japan earlier in October when Federal Agriculture Minister Andy Mitchell visited the country. "This is movement," Haney said.
 
The Japanese border has been effectively closed to US and Canadian beef since 2003, in reaction to the discovery of bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE) on both sides of the US-Canadian border. Japan's rules demand that all imported beef be tested for BSE, which producers in North America consider too expensive. Japan is now working on reducing its rules governing beef imports. The country is an important market for Canada and had been the US's top export market.
 
Reacting to the BSE crisis, the beef export federation is trying to reduce Canada's dependence on the US market, its No. 1 customer, to which it is currently shipping beef products but not live cattle. Canada exported C$1.1-billion of beef products in the first seven months of this year, with three-quarters of it headed for the US
 
Haney said he wants to see that figure come down to 50% as exports to other markets increase.
 
The US border remains closed to live cattle and it is unclear when that will change, Haney said.