June 19, 2014
Canada to increase access to China''s beef market
The Chinese government has agreed to move toward the necessary approvals to allow access for Canadian bone-in beef from animals under 30 months of age, following the announcement in 2010 that allowed access to boneless beef from animals under 30 months.
The announcement made by federal Agriculture Minister Gerry Ritz on Tuesday, following bilateral meetings in China brings Canada closer to restoring full market access to China, more than a decade after the BSE crisis.
China is Canada''s fastest-growing market for beefexports, due to a rapidly growing middle class with an increasing appetite for high-quality meat products. Though the country has its own domestic beef industry, the demand for imports is high and prices have skyrocketed.
In 2012, the Canadian beef industry estimated the value of the Chinese market at US$5 million (US$4.62 million). That climbed to CAD25 million (US$23.09 million) in 2013, and Laycraft said Tuesday''s announcement could increase that figure as high as CAD240 million (US$221.68 million) annually.
"It''s going to be a very big deal," said Canadian Cattlemen''s Association executive vice-president Dennis Laycraft. "The Chinese market has changed rapidly over the last four years. In 2010, they were a net exporter of beef, but with the growth in their economy and the growth in consumption, they''ve grown to 400,000 tonnes of imports this year."
China is also considered a "value-added" market, because consumers there value cuts that aren''t particularly popular in North America. "They''re developing a keen interest in what we call Western cuisine, but historically, there''s a lot of products there. Short ribs, some fancy meats and offals have always been an important part of their various dishes and that adds value there," Laycraft said.
Canadian cattlenumbers have been in decline for 10 years due to poor profitability. Laycraft said expanded export markets could give producers the incentive they need to increase their herds.
The beef deal was just one of several reached as a result of Ritz''s trade mission to China. An agreement to modernise both countries'' live swine protocol is expected to boost Canadian live swine competitiveness in China and result in sales of up to CAD11 million (US$10.16 million) annually.
"With each of these deals, whether it be this one or the European deal (CETA) or the Korean (Free Trade) deal, it''s setting the stage for the next 5, 10 or 15 years to be fundamentally quite strong for our industry," he said.