by Matthew Wright
The federal government took a step in the right direction as far as cattle producers are concerned with the creation of a new trade secretariat to expand foreign markets to Canadian beef products. The industry was severely crippled after the BSE outbreak in 2003 and has yet to fully recover the many lucrative markets it lost at that time.
“This is a concrete step to improve foreign market access for Canadian cattle producers. We have been pushing for this for quite some time and are extremely pleased to see that the minister recognizes the importance of the cattle industry in this country, it shows real leadership,” said MCPA president Joe Bouchard.
Bouchard said the need for a new trade secretariat armed with the appropriate credentials to secure foreign markets is essential to keeping the Canadian cattle industry competitive in the global market. Furthermore, he believes this investment by the government could yield tremendous returns.
A week after this announcement, Minister Gerry Ritz successfully secured an agreement, in-principle, with Hong Kong on a phase-in timetable to fully re-establish Canadian beef exports in that country. Industry estimates put Canadian exports to that market at almost $26 million, or double the current figure.
“This shows how having the right people at the table gets things done. Fresh, innovative strategies such as this are exactly the kind of actions we need to enhance our industry. We need the secretariat to get down to business right away to increase our opportunities for marketing our high quality product worldwide,” Bouchard said.
Gib Drury, board chair of the Canadian Beef Export Federation agreed.
“Minister Ritz is showing the diplomatic effort needed to produce the results our industry needs,” he said.
Experts are predicting an increase in demand for high protein diets including beef around the world especially in the quickly developing markets of India and China. With improved market access there are significant opportunities to enhance Canadian cut-out values. It is estimated that increased market access for Canadian producers would result in an extra $90 per head of cattle.
Drury said that the deal inked with Hong Kong will go along way to expanding Canada’s export markets. He expects it to open the door to the huge Chinese market as well as others in the expanding Asian markets.
“The Hong Kong deal is a precursor to getting us into China and Japan and puts us that much closer to finalizing a deal with Korea,” he said.
In recognition of the importance of market access, Canada’s agricultural sectors continue to enhance our animal health and food safety systems. In the beef and cattle sector, the development of a global branding strategy based on the Canadian Beef Advantage (CBA) illustrates this commitment. At present this program serves to communicate related achievements including Canada’s leadership in establishing the first mandatory national cattle identification system in North America. In the future, enhancements to traceability capabilities and expansion of on-farm food safety initiatives such as the Verified Beef Production (VBP) program will be central to maintaining and expanding market access.
The cattle sector in Canada has long been in need of a dedicated trade directorate to move its industry forward on the world stage and with this new beginning, the signs are all pointing in the right direction.
In fact, Drury said that in the next few weeks he plans on accompanying Minister Ritz to negotiate trade deals in the Middle East with Saudi Arabia, United Arab Emirates and Lebanon.
Read more!
Showing posts with label Beef Exports. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Beef Exports. Show all posts
Friday, March 13, 2009
Tuesday, September 2, 2008
Expanding trade the focus of this year's meeting
This past year was easily the most difficult the Canadian cattle industry has seen in years, and that was reflected in the mood at this year’s Canadian Cattlemen’s Association semi-annual meeting.
CCA President, Brad Wildeman began the meeting with a report that focused mostly on the Canadian government’s inability to help the beef industry in the world of international trade.“What we want is to establish an International Trade Directorate for agriculture,” he said, adding that they have been working to get this developed and are utilizing the expertise of retired civil servants who have experience dealing in the area of international trade.
Executive Vice President, Dennis Laycraft, summarized the year from his perspective by criticizing the Canadian regulatory system for adding unnecessary costs that which in a high volume, low margin business, makes it difficult to stay competitive.
The Canadian packing industry is at a $34 per head disadvantage to the U.S., explaining why packers on this side of the border are operating below capacity.
Laycraft also said regulators are slowing down the development of new feed grain varieties and approvals for veterinary drugs that could make us even with U.S. counterparts or even one step ahead.
It has been five years since BSE closed our export borders and Canada still lacks normal beef trade with key markets such as South Korea. Everyone is frustrated by the fact that even though the Canadian industry has jumped through many hoops, including—increased disease surveillance, SRM feed ban and traceability—off-shore trade remains elusive.
Complicating matters is the fact that the Canadian cattle industry can’t simply go into a country to sell beef. Agreements between the trading countries’ food safety organizations must be arranged beforehand. Since all countries are different to deal with, a concerted effort must be applied before there are results.
A combination of factors are slowing down progress. Politics between countries, lack of coordination between government departments, bureaucracy and a certain level of apathy means our beef industry is having difficulty striking outside of North America. As the world continues to move forward, Canada seems to be standing still.
The CCA is asking the government develop an International Trade Directorate that would have representation from agriculture, foreign trade and the Canadian Food Inspection Agency coordinating a focused effort to develop more foreign markets. Read more!
CCA President, Brad Wildeman began the meeting with a report that focused mostly on the Canadian government’s inability to help the beef industry in the world of international trade.“What we want is to establish an International Trade Directorate for agriculture,” he said, adding that they have been working to get this developed and are utilizing the expertise of retired civil servants who have experience dealing in the area of international trade.
Executive Vice President, Dennis Laycraft, summarized the year from his perspective by criticizing the Canadian regulatory system for adding unnecessary costs that which in a high volume, low margin business, makes it difficult to stay competitive.
The Canadian packing industry is at a $34 per head disadvantage to the U.S., explaining why packers on this side of the border are operating below capacity.
Laycraft also said regulators are slowing down the development of new feed grain varieties and approvals for veterinary drugs that could make us even with U.S. counterparts or even one step ahead.
It has been five years since BSE closed our export borders and Canada still lacks normal beef trade with key markets such as South Korea. Everyone is frustrated by the fact that even though the Canadian industry has jumped through many hoops, including—increased disease surveillance, SRM feed ban and traceability—off-shore trade remains elusive.
How important is trade?
One way of explaining the value of trade is to see each animal as a sum of its parts. While the Canadian market provides a decent price for the prime meat cuts - short ribs, tongue, liver and other cuts don’t sell well here, but are popular overseas. Limited access to those markets reduces the cut-out value of Canadian cattle by $100 a head. Upping the value of the finished product is key to bringing profitability back to all sectors of the industry.Complicating matters is the fact that the Canadian cattle industry can’t simply go into a country to sell beef. Agreements between the trading countries’ food safety organizations must be arranged beforehand. Since all countries are different to deal with, a concerted effort must be applied before there are results.
A combination of factors are slowing down progress. Politics between countries, lack of coordination between government departments, bureaucracy and a certain level of apathy means our beef industry is having difficulty striking outside of North America. As the world continues to move forward, Canada seems to be standing still.
The CCA is asking the government develop an International Trade Directorate that would have representation from agriculture, foreign trade and the Canadian Food Inspection Agency coordinating a focused effort to develop more foreign markets. Read more!
“If the government is telling you to be productive and innovative
they have to stand by what they say.”
- Andrea Mandel-Campbell
Read more!
they have to stand by what they say.”
- Andrea Mandel-Campbell
One of this year’s guest speakers at the CCA conference was Andrea Mandel-Campbell, the author of “Why Mexicans Don’t Drink Molson.” She spoke on Global Competitiveness and the Canadian Beef Industry. She is a writer for the National Post and CTV’s Business News Network, specializing in global competitiveness issues.
A former Winnipegger, Campbell understands the Canadian mindset and the beef industry. Her family owns a feedlot at Stonewall. She said that our country isn’t in fact a trading nation, but one that sits back and lets the world buy its raw commodities, turning us into price takers instead of price makers. She said other countries like New Zealand understand global trade and proudly markets its products. Following the BSE discovery in Canada, Australia boldly took advantage of the fact Canadian cattle were out of the export market and aggressively ramped up their own trade efforts - with much success. Based on Andrea’s presentation, if the roles were reversed, Canada is not ready to do the same.
During the question period following her presentation, a producer from the audience outlined difficulties in working with the Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA) and asked what industry/producers can do about the lack of cooperation and heavy-handed tactics, her response was simple:
BUY ANDREA'S BOOK HEREA former Winnipegger, Campbell understands the Canadian mindset and the beef industry. Her family owns a feedlot at Stonewall. She said that our country isn’t in fact a trading nation, but one that sits back and lets the world buy its raw commodities, turning us into price takers instead of price makers. She said other countries like New Zealand understand global trade and proudly markets its products. Following the BSE discovery in Canada, Australia boldly took advantage of the fact Canadian cattle were out of the export market and aggressively ramped up their own trade efforts - with much success. Based on Andrea’s presentation, if the roles were reversed, Canada is not ready to do the same.
During the question period following her presentation, a producer from the audience outlined difficulties in working with the Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA) and asked what industry/producers can do about the lack of cooperation and heavy-handed tactics, her response was simple:
“Why are so many people being held hostage by so very few?”
National Check-Off update
Former MCPA President, Marlin Beever, was at this year’s CCA semi-annual meeting to report on the progress and status of the National Check-off.
While most provinces pay into the organization that was established to promote beef consumption, market development and research, producers from two provinces still do not.
“Quebec and P.E.I are in the final stages and it looks like it will happen,” Beever said. “Once we get everybody signed, we can begin collecting on the imports. If everybody isn’t in, we can’t force the importers to contribute. It has to be national in scope and all producers must be contributing at an equal level.”
Beever explained collecting on imports will add an approximate $1 million a year to the fund. He said this is critical because for every $1 collected, they are able to leverage more dollars in funding.
“Producers should know that for every dollar they commit, those dollars double or triple, so they are getting a good return for their money.”
Beever has been an advocate of National Check-off since the idea was proposed and became involved at the national level in the 1990s.
NATIONAL CHECK-OFF EXPLAINED
Read more!
While most provinces pay into the organization that was established to promote beef consumption, market development and research, producers from two provinces still do not.
“Quebec and P.E.I are in the final stages and it looks like it will happen,” Beever said. “Once we get everybody signed, we can begin collecting on the imports. If everybody isn’t in, we can’t force the importers to contribute. It has to be national in scope and all producers must be contributing at an equal level.”
Beever explained collecting on imports will add an approximate $1 million a year to the fund. He said this is critical because for every $1 collected, they are able to leverage more dollars in funding.
“Producers should know that for every dollar they commit, those dollars double or triple, so they are getting a good return for their money.”
Beever has been an advocate of National Check-off since the idea was proposed and became involved at the national level in the 1990s.
NATIONAL CHECK-OFF EXPLAINED
Read more!
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