Canada's imports of US cattle in the nine months through November 2017 surged to a 10-year high, up almost 370%. 

In Alberta alone, which is the heart of Canada's beef cattle industry, imports were up more than 1,000%, according to the US Department of Agriculture Foreign Agricultural Service's Global Agricultural Information Network (GAIN) report.

The majority of cattle were destined for Alberta, with higher levels also moving into Ontario and British Columbia.

The report cited several factors that helped push Canadian live cattle imports sharply higher in late 2017, and these include lower Canadian cattle numbers, favorable prices for US feeder cattle, a Canadian feed cost advantage, a relatively stronger Canadian dollar, and strong Canadian feedlot profitability earlier in the year.

It said the 2017 cattle numbers indicate that the Canadian cattle herd had been in further decline than earlier estimates had suggested.

The report also cited industry sources with the observation that trucks delivering slaughter cattle into the US were picking up loads of feeder cattle on their return trip back to Canada, rather than running empty, during the late summer/fall 2017 surge.

Industry sources, according to the GAIN report, diverge on whether these feeders will ultimately remain in Canada for processing or return to the US. However, 2017 year-to-date figures showed a 16% decrease in live cattle exports to the US, continuing the declining trend after the 2014 peak.

It's more likely that many recently imported feeders will remain in Canada for processing, considering that the US cattle herd is still expanding and there is an increased Canadian consumer demand for beef and the prospect of expanded export opportunities offered by the Comprehensive and Progressive Trans-Pacific Partnership countries later this year, said the report.  Rick Alberto