September 10, 2003
Russia Starts Inspections to Accept Canadian Beef
Russian officials will inspect Canadian beef slaughter plants within the month, part of an effort to restart beef trade after Canada reported a case of mad cow disease, Canadian officials said on Tuesday.
Traditionally, Russia is not a major importer of Canadian beef, buying an average of 3,170 tonnes worth C$3.2 million ($2.3 million) over the past three years, mainly liver, according to Canadian industry statistics. But because of a backlog of beef in Canada, the meat may be more price-competitive in the Russian market than usual.
Prices for cattle older than 30 months -- considered by scientists to be the only cattle old enough to incubate mad cow disease -- have collapsed since Canada's single reported case. While the United States and Mexico are starting to accept beef from young cattle, Russia is the first export market to indicate it will accept meat from older cattle.
