Live animals still allowed but meat has been banned since U.S. started enforcing Amenable Species Act during the COVID-19 pandemic
CAMROSE, Alta. — A long forgotten American wildlife act that was dusted off during the COVID pandemic has blocked Canadian bison meat from entering the United States, costing Canadian producers millions of dollars.
“Without access to the U.S. market, especially with bison trimmings, the Alberta industry will continue to have struggles and continue to have a negative effect on the prices of all bison,” said Steven Lunty, chair of Bison Producers of Alberta, during the group’s convention.
For years, meat from bison slaughtered in Canada could be shipped to the U.S. and turned into hamburger and other processed foods. But during COVID, the Americans enforced the Amenable Species Act, which prohibits Canadian bison meat from entering the U.S.
Read Also
Key actions identified to address canola tariffs
Federal and Saskatchewan governments discuss next steps with industry on Chinese tariffs
Carl Flis, executive director of the Canadian Bison Association, said the act isn’t new, but American bison producers pushed officials to enforce it.
“Since COVID, and a little bit of protection issues, they started enforcing those rules and regulations. That is what shut off the tap to trim going south,” said Flis.
Canadian live bison can still enter the U.S., but bison meat is prohibited. About 80 percent of finished bison are shipped live to U.S. markets. The high-end cuts of meat from bison slaughtered in Canada are eaten in Canada, but the trim, which is about 80 percent of the carcass, can no longer be shipped south.
“It shut the taps off for some Canadian marketers who depended on that market for years and years. All of a sudden they lose a market south of the border and we are starting to build excess inventory in Canada. There is also excess trim inventory in the U.S. As long as there is excess trim inventory in the U.S., they are not going to be coming to look at the Canadian market,” said Flis.
Dean Andres with Canadian Rangeland said they have lost $3 million in sales a year by not being able to sell the trim to U.S. markets.
“It was always just easy to pick up the phone and say we have 40,000 pounds and send it down. It was always a good price and in U.S. dollars. There just simply isn’t a big enough market in Canada for the trim,” said Andres.
Each bison carcass has roughly 100 kilograms of trim. In the U.S., trim is sold for about $20 a kilogram. In Canada it is less than $10 a kilogram, a difference of about $1,000 an animal.
Andre said they have rented freezer space and are making some products with the stored trim, but are hoping the Americans soon run out of trim and start looking across the border to fill their orders.
Andre said he believes within the next year or two, American buyers will return.
“In the meantime, you can’t really store meat that long economically and freezer costs have gone through the roof.”
Flis said they he expects changes will happen when American plants run out of supply.
“We are not going to push too much harder for regulatory change. We don’t want the U.S. imposing some other kind of restriction at the border. At the same time, we need to work with our partners south of the border and look at some kind of creative changes that can continue to increase the import of trim products to the U.S.
“ It is a supply and demand issue. I really think we’ll see in a year from now a shortage of availability and U.S. marketers will start looking to Canada again.”
Lunty said without access to the American trim market, prices for all parts of the bison industry have fallen.
“The cow-calf guy has lost money the last two years. The finished market animals are at a lower price because there isn’t competition for Canadian buyers to buy. The negative effects are felt by all.”
