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 Indo-Pacific region.”
“Expanding our trade relationships in the Indo-Pacific region is a top priority for the Government of Canada, and Taiwan presents many opportunities for Canada’s beef sector,” Bibeau said Friday in a release.
Read Also
U.S. livestock: Feeder cattle extend rally to new highs
Chicago Mercantile Exchange feeder cattle futures extended gains to record highs on Wednesday while live cattle futures set a contract high before pulling back.
Ng had telegraphed Taiwan’s pending decision late last month during the Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) trade ministers’ meeting in Detroit, noting ongoing negotiations between Canada and Taiwan on a foreign investment promotion and protection arrangement.
Taiwan, among many other countries, had blocked imports of Canadian beef in 2003 following the discovery of Canada’s first domestic case of bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE). It began accepting boneless Canadian beef from animals under age 30 months (UTMs) in 2007, though it paused those imports in 2015-16 on the discovery of Canada’s 19th BSE case, the first to be born after Canada’s “enhanced feed ban” was imposed in 2007.
The 30-month cutoff has been based on a safeguard imposed in Britain in the 1990s during that country’s BSE crisis. UTM cattle are believed to pose a lower risk of BSE infectivity even if those animals carry the agent that causes the disease.
Since then, however, Canada’s BSE-related beef safety cred has reached its highest possible ranking internationally. It was officially recognized in 2021 by the World Organization of Animal Health (WOAH) as having “negligible risk” status for BSE.
Canada last year was the seventh-largest supplier of beef and beef products to Taiwan, valued at almost $14 million out of Taiwan’s $1.9 billion total beef import market that year.
The Canadian Cattle Association said last month it’s “grateful for Taiwan’s decision to adhere to science-based trade,” noting the Indo-Pacific region “holds the greatest potential for beef export diversification.” — Glacier FarmMedia Network
