Johanns: Canadian Cattle Shipments Will Resume March 7

There’s some good news and bad news for Canada’s beleaguered cattle producers.

U.S. Agriculture Secretary Mike Johanns informed his Canadian counterpart, Andy Mitchell, that only shipments of young cattle will resume next month and that restrictions on animals older than 30 months will remain pending further study.

“Our ongoing investigations into the recent finds of (BSE) in Canada in animals over 30 months is not complete, therefore I feel it is prudent to delay the effective date for allowing imports of meat from animals 30 months and over,” Johanns said, explaining his decision.

The $8 billion-a-year (in Canadian dollars) Canadian cattle industry has been reeling from the effects of the U.S. ban, which was imposed following the detection of BSE, so-called mad cow disease, in a Canadian cow in May, 2003.

Before the ban, Canada shipped approximately 1.7 million head of cattle into the United States each year.

The decision has left some Canadian producers hopping mad, including Ted Haney, head of the Canada Beef Export Federation, a Calgary-based group.

"I think the time has come that when a leader decides not to open the market because of political pressure, he or she should say that," said Ted Haney, quoted in the Toronto Star. "Instead, we have communicated around the world that there is a higher level of risk to beef products from animals over 30 months, a risk that does not exist, is not backed by science and will ultimately be harmful not only to Canadian exports, but U.S. exports as well."

In an additional statement featured on Bloomsberg.com, Haney said, “This is not about animal health, not about food safety or science, This is about conceding to U.S. protectionist forces and specifically the National Cattlemen's Beef Association.''

While it’s not certain how long the process will take before all shipments will resume, one Canadian official speculated that it would involve a 60-day comment period once Johann’s new plan is devised.

Posted by Jim Langcuster at February 10, 2005 04:53 PM | TrackBack