November 29, 2010

Canada may more than double beef export to EU

Canada's new duty-free quota for shipping beef to the EU could more than double if technical conditions are met, a Canadian government official said.

Canada said it had gained access to Europe for 20,000 tonnes of beef annually, with a further 3,200 tonnes to be added as compensation for the EU's ban on beef from cattle treated with growth hormones.

That access begins to resolve a 21-year-old dispute between the EU and North American beef exporters, but provisions are in place for a bigger quota, Patrick Girard, a spokesperson for Canada's Agriculture Department, said Thursday (Nov 25).

The EU's most favoured nation beef quota, which is available to any World Trade Organization member that can meet the import requirement-but currently just Canada, the US and Australia-will rise a further 25,000 tonnes to 48,200 tonnes annually once all conditions are met, Girard said.

The key issue Canada and the EU must resolve before the quota expands is the North American practice of washing carcasses with an anti-microbial spray not used in Europe, said John Masswohl, director of government and international relations for the Canadian Cattlemen's Association.

If the sides resolve outstanding issues, the expanded quota could be in place by 2012, Masswohl said. Canadian and EU negotiators are making progress on resolving the concern about washes, he said.

"We've been working to get this approved for a year and a half. (Canadian farmers) have got the beef, they've got the customers, now they've gotten rid of the tariff," Masswohl said.

The timing of when Canada will lift a retaliatory surtax on European beef, pork and gherkins depends on when a memorandum of understanding resolving the beef hormone dispute is signed, Girard said.