August 18, 2006

 

Canadian cattle numbers falls after reopening of US border

 

 

After rising to a record high after the occurrence of mad cow disease, Canada's cattle herd plunged by 810,000 head since the American border reopened.

 

Around 16.2 million head of cattle were available as of Jul 1, down about five percent from the record 17.1 million a year earlier, according to Statistics Canada.

 

The agency noted the figure is still higher than that of the July 2002 level, before the US ban in 2003.

 

Cattle inventories build up quickly after the US banned live cattle from Canada in May 2003 as Canada reported a case of mad cow disease. The US immediately closed its border to all live Canadian cattle, before allowing cattle under 30 months of age last summer.

 

Exports of live cattle to the US rose rapidly once the border was reopened in July 2005, the Statistics Canada report said.

 

In the year up to Jul 1, 2006, total cattle exports amounted to 1.14 million head.

 

Statistics Canada said monthly exports to the US have fallen recently as US ranchers are sending cattle to feedlots early due to drought.

 

During the three-year period leading up to the record cattle numbers recorded in July 2005, the combined herd in Saskatchewan, Manitoba and Alberta rose by 1.3 million head, accounting for about 80 percent of the total 1.6 million nationwide gain.

 

The renewed exports of live cattle caused a drop in slaughter levels in Canada. Slaughter levels had hit record highs in 2004 and the first half of 2005, thanks to increased capacity, lower import levels and strong domestic and international demand.

 

However, now that the US has allowed live cattle, there has been fewer exports of beef. Thus, slaughter for the year till July 1 was down eight percent from the last year.