Reading Time: 2 minutes Taiwan has officially lifted its import ban on Canadian beef and beef products from animals over 30 months of age (OTMs). Canada’s Trade Minister Mary Ng and Agriculture Minister Marie-Claude Bibeau announced the move Friday, saying Taiwan’s decision “will offer an opportunity to expand Canadian beef exports to Taiwan and diversify export markets in the […] Read more
Taiwan formally opens to OTM Canadian beef
BSE-era restriction now lifted
Japan lifts last of BSE-era restrictions off Canadian beef
Canadian processed beef regains access to Japan
Reading Time: 2 minutes The last of Japan’s import restrictions on Canadian beef and beef products stemming from the BSE crisis has been lifted, allowing access for Canadian further-processed beef. Canada’s federal agriculture department announced Monday that Japan has reopened to imports of “processed” Canadian beef — just days ahead of a significant reduction in Japan’s tariffs on imports […] Read more
Singapore clears all Canadian beef for import
Country first to lift BSE-era restrictions under new status
Reading Time: 3 minutes Canada’s new official international status as a “negligible risk” country for bovine spongiform encephalopathy now has its first recognition from a beef-importing nation. Singapore has approved the Canadian Food Inspection Agency’s certificate for exports of all Canadian beef, including beef offal, with no restrictions on the age of the cattle from which the beef was […] Read more
Klassen: Uncertain beef demand weighs on feeder market
Reading Time: 2 minutes Compared to last week, western Canadian prices for yearling and heavier calves were down $2-$4 on average. The calf market was hard to define; Alberta markets traded $3 lower to $4 higher but notable strength was evident in Saskatchewan and Manitoba where values were steady to $4 higher. Favourable weather contributed to higher auction market […] Read more
Namibia looks to import cattle as drought decimates herds
Reading Time: < 1 minute Windhoek | Reuters — Namibian state-owned meat processing and marketing firm Meatco is in talks with neighbour Botswana to import cattle, as severe drought decimates local herds and threatens beef export deals with China and European countries. The southern African desert nation moved closer to famine last month after dam levels fell below 20 per […] Read more
Japan deal levels field for U.S. beef, but sales surge unlikely
Reading Time: 3 minutes Tokyo/Chicago | Reuters — U.S. beef exporters, unhappy after President Donald Trump pulled out of a multilateral trade pact in 2017, stand to sell more meat in Japan after the U.S. leader and Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe cut a deal to slice into tariffs. But agriculture experts say that for now, that boost may […] Read more
Brazil lifts suspension of beef exports to China
Reading Time: < 1 minute Sao Paulo | Reuters — Brazil’s government said Thursday it has lifted a suspension of beef exports to China after dealing with an atypical case of BSE, sending shares of Marfrig Global Foods, Minerva and other Brazilian meatpackers soaring. The suspension had been in effect since June 3 after a case was reported in a […] Read more
Brazil halts beef exports to China after atypical BSE case
Reading Time: < 1 minute Sao Paulo | Reuters — Brazil has temporarily halted beef exports to China following an atypical case of BSE in leading farm state Mato Grosso, the agriculture ministry said on Monday. China, Brazil’s largest beef importer by sales, spent US$1.5 billion on Brazilian beef last year, totaling 322,400 tonnes or almost 20 per cent of […] Read more
U.S. livestock: Cattle, hogs turn up on short-covering
Reading Time: < 1 minute Chicago | Reuters –– Chicago Mercantile Exchange livestock futures ticked higher on Thursday, boosted by short-covering and technical buying after prices probed new lows earlier this week, traders said. Futures for cattle and lean hogs notched narrow gains despite fears of weaker prices in cash markets and a lower trend in wholesale meat values — […] Read more
OIE declares Brazil free of foot-and-mouth, with vaccination
Reading Time: 2 minutes Paris | Reuters — The World Organization for Animal Health (OIE) declared Brazil free of foot-and-mouth disease (FMD) with vaccination on Thursday, opening new export prospects for the world’s largest beef exporter. The OIE already considered most of Brazil to be free of FMD with vaccination. The declaration, which the government had been expecting since […] Read more
A message from April Stewart, Country Guide's Associate Editor
