On May 20, 2003, Canada's beef industry was rocked when the announcement was made that a single cow in northern Alberta had tested positive for bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE). This single case resulted in an international ban on imports of Canadian beef.

Prior to the worldwide ban on Canadian beef products, Canada was the third largest exporter of beef in the world, after Australia and the United States. In 2002, this export market was worth about $4.1 billion(1). Export markets are crucial to Canadian beef producers. Prior to the ban, almost half of the cattle sold in Canada were exported as either live animals or meat. About 90 per cent of Canadian beef exports and virtually all (99.6 per cent) of live cattle went to the United States in 2002.(2)

In September 2003, Canada regained access for boneless Canadian beef from cattle under 30 months of age into the U.S. and Mexico.(3) In 2004, Canada exported 24.5 per cent of its beef and cattle production on a net basis (subtracting out imports). This compares to 17 per cent in 2003 and 53 per cent in 2002. Canadian beef exports in 2004 were valued at $1.9 billion. (4)

According to Statistics Canada, Canada's beef cattle industry remains the largest single source of farm cash receipts. Cattle and calf receipts, in 2004, totaled $5.1 billion (5). In 2004, Canada produced 3.2 billion pounds of beef and beef production contributed $20 billion to Canada's economy. (6)

In January 2004, record cattle numbers were reported in Canada as closed borders and reduced marketings sent the total cattle herd up 8.7 per cent to 14.7 million head. Saskatchewan's cattle inventory at the time was over 2.8 million head (7). By January 2005, Canadian beef cow numbers were up to a record 5.32 million head. Saskatchewan's beef cows rose about 8 per cent to 1.54 million head. (8)

Canadians continue to show support for the country's beef industry and beef consumption in Canada increased 5 per cent in 2003 to 51.6 pounds (23.4 kg) per person yearly(9).

Next to the reopening of the U.S. border to live cattle, increasing the slaughter of Canadian cattle and increasing the processing capacity, are the most effective means of strengthening and stabilizing the Canadian beef cattle industry now and into the future.

The Canadian Beef Export Federation (CBEF) has ambitious plans to increase beef exports to about 1,000,000 metric tonnes by 2007(10). CBEF is working to build new markets with greatly reduced dependence on the U.S. market over the next two to five years. The Federation has identified markets with the greatest opportunities as being Japan, South Korea, Mexico, Hong Kong, Taiwan, China, South-East Asia and the United States(11).

 

Trends in the beef industry include:

• 89 per cent of Canadian households purchase beef, with the average Canadian consuming over 50 pounds of beef a year. (Source: The Beef Information Centre)
• Convenience is becoming a big market. Frozen beef meals, including entrée items and frozen meal kits, are included in this category. As of 2004, supermarkets are substantially ahead of full-service restaurants for the first time in more than five years as the reported main source of take-out meals.
• Consumers are demanding safe, high quality and consistent beef products that take the environment and animal welfare into consideration. Industry is responding to consumer concerns with on farm quality assurance programs, as well as branded, case ready and certified products.
• Consumers are judging the quality and overall acceptability of beef products based on tenderness, which has been identified as the single most important palatability factor affecting consumer satisfaction with beef(12).
• Consumers are leading busier lives and will opt for quick and simple meal solutions, such as grilled steaks, roast and ground beef(13).
• Emerging new markets like Japan, Mexico, South Korea, Taiwan and China, offer new opportunities in the retail, food service, processed beef and beef offal market sectors.
  

The value of the Saskatchewan beef exports grew 12 per cent from $54 million to almost $61 million between 1998 and 2001. Due to BSE and the subsequent international ban on beef exports, these numbers declined significantly in 2003 and 2004.

There are eight federally inspected and seven provincially inspected beef processing plants in Saskatchewan. In January 2002, Centennial Foods of Calgary opened a new federally inspected meat processing plant in Saskatoon. The plant produces frozen meat products for North American and Southeast Asian markets.

The only mandatory health requirement for slaughter for local market is by the provincial Department of Health. As a result, there are many small local processors that do some small-scale on-site slaughter for the local market. They are not allowed to slaughter and sell meat to a large-scale domestic market, or for export. In addition, there are other processing facilities that do no slaughtering, but utilize raw cuts for further processing. The following table highlights some of the larger beef secondary processing operations in the province.

Saskatchewan Beef Processors
Company	Location	Employees	Beef*	Products	Inspection
Mitchell’s Gourmet Foods Inc.	Saskatoon	1000	10%	Various fresh & processed meat products	Federal
XL Beef	Moose Jaw	100-249	100%	Slaughter beef	Federal
Centennial Foods	Saskatoon	100-249	100%	Various processed meat products	Federal
Harvest Meats Co.	Yorkton	100-249	10%	Various processed meat products	Federal
Thomspon Meats Ltd.	Melfort	50-99	20%	Various fresh & processed meat products	Federal
Drake Meat Processors	Drake	50-99	20%	Slaughter beef; Various fresh & processed meat products	Provincial
Prairie Meats	Saskatoon	50-99		Various fresh & processed meat products	Provincial
Chef-Redi Meats	Saskatoon	20-49		Various fresh & processed meat products	Provincial
Treen Packers	Swift Current	20-49		Slaughter beef; Various fresh & processed meat products	Provincial
Source: Saskatchewan Food Processors Association Directory, 2001 *Note: This column refers to the percentage of the company’s total production that is beef. The rest of production is generally pork and may include other specialized livestock species.

The products these companies produce are sold in all markets, including the hotel, restaurant and institution industry (HRI), retail, wholesale, and specialty markets.

1. Analysis in brief: Mad cow disease and beef trade, November 2003, Statistics Canada
2. Ibid, 2.
3. Canadian Cattlemen's Association Executive Report 2004
4. Canada's Beef Industry FAST FACTS, Beef Information Centre, http://www.beefinfo.org/, March 2005
5. Canada's Beef Industry FAST FACTS, Beef Information Centre, http://www.beefinfo.org/, March 2005
6. Ibid.
7. Statistical Briefer, Canfax Research May 2004
8. Canada's Beef Industry FAST FACTS, Beef Information Centre, http://www.beefinfo.org/, March 2005
9. Ibid.

10. Canadian beef industry weaning itself from US market, Meristem Meeting Report, www.meristem.com
11. Importance of Trade, http://www.cbef.com/, Canada Beef Export Federation
12. "Responding to Changing Customer Habits with Beef", Farm & Food Report, February 7, 2005
13. Ibid.