November 21, 2003

Canadian Beef Shipments Hit Delays At US Border

Canadian beef-product shipments to the U.S. are experiencing delays crossing the border due to a staffing shortage at the U.S. Bureau of Customs and Border Protection, according to government and industry officials.

Mary Neal, an associate commissioner for agriculture, said Thursday that Customs has reduced the timeframe in which inspectors are available to approve Canadian shipments at some border entry points and that that has led to delays, but she stressed the government is working to hire and train more personnel to do the job.

"We will not have anyone performing the job that has not been trained, but we are right now in the process of addressing those locations (on the border) where ... we have a problem," Neal said.

The U.S. banned all Canadian beef and cattle on May 20 when Canada announced it had discovered a case of bovine spongiphorm encephalopathy, also known as mad-cow disease. But on Aug. 8 USDA lifted the prohibition on some beef products, so long as each shipment is accompanied by written certification that they are derived from cattle under 30 months of age.

John Little, a director for shipping logistics company Elite Group Inc., which represents clients affected by the new certification rules, said his clients are suffering from the border delays.

"It's definitely hurting their ability to deliver cargo to their customers," Little said of his clients and added that the Buffalo, N.Y., port of entry is particularly backed up for Canadian exporters.

Before the BSE outbreak in Canada and the subsequent U.S. Department of Agriculture border restrictions, Little said his clients "were able to get their goods to their customers (in the U.S.) in normally 24-48 hours. Now that is four-to-six days."

Beyond just the shortage of Customs inspectors and the increased paperwork created by USDA certification requirements, there are also fewer entry points to the U.S. for Canadian beef shipments.

A Customs official said the bureau has reduced the number of those entry points to just 26 locations on the border, down from over 100 due in order to provide more scrutiny of beef shipments.