Canada Must Reassure Nervous Trading Partners That Its Beef Is Safe, Experts Say
calgaryherald.com
Feb. 18, 2015
Feb. 18, 2015
Coded Expectation
IM3.02- identify and describe the problems that some companies have experienced when exporting or importing goods and services
Summary
South Korea has moved to block Canada’s beef imports after a recent mad cow disease outbreak. The first outbreak of its kind since 2011 has led investigators to a farm in Alberta. However, investigators won’t say how many other cows could be affected at that source, causing trading partners to be nervous and potentially follow South Korea’s lead in banning Canadian beef. Canada exported $25.8 million worth of beef to South Korea in 2014, an amount that was expected to grow in 2015 due to a free trade agreement made between the two countries. Canada has had trouble with mad cow disease before, and is currently listed as a “controlled BSE risk” country by the World Organization for Animal Health. This was due to the outbreak in 2003, which saw 40 markets close their borders to Canadian beef.
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Canadian beef has been a tough sell recently, with South Korea banning the import due to a risk of disease (8).
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Connection
Beef is one of Canada’s most important exports, and one that many farmers rely on for an income. One of the issues that is always carefully studied when beef is exported is the presence of “mad cow disease”. Since 2003’s major outbreak, Canada has seen a small but not insignificant number of outbreaks of the disease, leading many countries to be wary of the potentially tainted beef. While this disease is an issue, a University of Guelph professor suggests Asian countries have less of an understanding of the disease, and that we are “more comfortable with it.”
Disease is one of the major problems that Canada has experienced in its exports, but an even greater issue is the lack of understanding of the disease by foreign officials. This could cause major trading partners such as South Korea to permanently ban Canadian beef, an even larger issue than simply halting imports for a short period of time.
Disease is one of the major problems that Canada has experienced in its exports, but an even greater issue is the lack of understanding of the disease by foreign officials. This could cause major trading partners such as South Korea to permanently ban Canadian beef, an even larger issue than simply halting imports for a short period of time.