January 6, 2004

Japan Key To US Ban On Canadian Cattle

The survival of the Canadian cattle industry is hinging on domestic Japanese politics. Should Japan maintain their ban on US beef, the American border will remain closed to Canadian live cattle imports.

If that happens, there may not be much left of the cattle industry in Canada, said Rod Scarlett, executive director of the Wild Rose Agricultural Producers. "The vast majority of producers and feedlot operators are telling me that August is the cut-off point," he said. "After that, a lot of them are going to be out of the business. Through the summer, they can pasture whatever they can't move.

After that they're looking at feed costs. And an extension of the ban into the fall is a distinct possibility."

"A lot of operations out here are just hanging by a thread. I don't know anyone in the industry who isn't hurting," said Halvar Jonson, Tory MLA for Ponoka-Rimbey.

"We need that border open, and soon." Mindy Kotler, an analyst with the Washington-based Japan Information Access Project, thinks Tokyo may exploit the U.S. mad cow case for political gain. It could do that by maintaining a ban on American beef imports until after the summer.