(File photo/ farmnewsNOW Staff)

By Nigel Maxwell

Livestock industry

Japan opens doors to Canadian beef over 30 months old

May 21, 2019 | 2:00 PM

Canadian livestock producers received some good news over the long weekend, with the announcement Japan would now import beef from animals of all ages.

Restrictions on beef over 30 months (OTM) of age have been in place since 2005. Japan had closed its borders following the finding in 2003 of bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE) in Canada. Chad Macpherson, General Manager of the Saskatchewan Stockgrower’s Association, said the recent announcement from Japan came in under the radar, but added he was not entirely surprised by it.

“Through the negotiation of the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) we were resuming and gaining market access to Japan so this is just another step in restoring full market access to Japan,” he said.

The announcement which was on Friday, was effective immediately, and affects all of Japan’s importing countries, including Canada and the U.S. Macpherson said the ban had put Canada at a competitive disadvantage to other countries, limiting what Canada could export to Japan,

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“With the ratification of the TPP, beef exports to Japan are up over 100 per cent. I think we are at 117 per cent year-over-year for the first three months of 2019 compared to 2018,” he said.

Japan has represented an important market for Canadian beef, with exports to Japan totalling almost $215 million in 2018. In a statement issued Tuesday by the Canadian Cattlemen’s Association (CCA), CCA President David Haywood – Farmer said he expected exports of Canadian beef to increase further still, now that expanded access for OTM beef had finally come to fruition.

“The CCA has and will continue to advocate for free and open trade. We were pleased to see the access to Japan attained under the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for the Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP) and are happy to see the market potential grow with new access for OTM,” he said.

According to some industry insiders, the lifting of the restrictions could further increase exports another 20 per cent.

nigel.maxwell@jpbg.ca

On Twitter: @nigelmaxwell