Ottawa, ON – Canada’s meat processing Industry is strongly welcoming the successful conclusion of discussions leading to renewed access to the important Japanese market for beef from cattle up to 30 months of age. The announcement was made earlier today by Minister of Agriculture and Agri-Food Gerry Ritz and Minister of International Trade Ed Fast.
“The removal of foreign barriers to Canadian agri-food exports is always a long and arduous undertaking that must be negotiated on a government to government basis. Canada’s meat processors recognize and value the commitment and persistence of Ministers Ritz and Fast, their departmental officials and the staff of the Canadian Food Inspection Agency in bringing the technical discussions with Japan to a successful conclusion,” said Canadian Meat Council Chair Ray Price.
Subsequent to the identification of several cases of BSE in Canadian cattle, Japan had restricted imports of beef to meat from animals of up to 20 months of age. As a result of today’s announcement, the age limit will be increased to animals less than 30 months of age and Canadian meat processors will no longer be required to eliminate high quality healthy cattle between 21 and 30 months of age from the selection pool for Japan. While the new measures continue to be more restrictive than those recommended by the International Animal Health Organization, they do represent a landmark step along the road to the restoration of normal trade.
With exports to Japan averaging more than 14,000 tonnes of beef and veal valued at some $73.7 million annually between 2010 and 2011, Japan is Canada’s fourth largest export destination for beef and veal. Japan is already Canada’s second largest export market for pork. With these new rules Japan could become just as important a customer high quality Canadian beef.
“Although the Japanese have high expectations for quality, they reward exporters who meet these expectations,” said Canadian Meat Council Executive Director Jim Laws. “We look forward to rapid progress on the Canada-Japan Economic Partnership negotiations that were announced by the Canadian and Japanese governments earlier this year”, Laws added.
Canada’s meat processing industry includes some 400 federally registered establishments, providing not only safe, high quality protein for Canadian consumers, but also adding jobs and making a significant contribution to local economic activity in both rural and urban Canada. With almost 70,000 employees and annual sales exceeding $24.1 billion, in 2011 Canada exported over $1.3 billion of beef and $3.2 billion of pork to more than 120 countries around the world. The Canadian Meat Council has been representing Canada’s federally inspected meat processing industry since 1919.
Source: Canadian Meat Council
