Cuba has agreed to resume buying Canadian beef as of Dec. 14.
Cuba is willing to accept a broad range of products from cattle of any age, with the exception of mechanically separated meat, vertebral column, trimmings and tissues derived from the head. It is also accepting pet food that does not contain ruminant meat and bonemeal.
The next step should be the resumption of live cattle trade.
The agreement only includes beef because Cuba never did restrict sheep or goat meat during the BSE ban, said Elizabeth Whiting, spokesperson for federal agriculture minister Andy Mitchell.
“Every country imposed different restrictions,” she said.
Cuba has aligned its import policies with the standards of the world organization for animal health, stating that BSE should not impair trade when proper safeguards are in place.
In 2002, Cuba bought more than $2.2 million of Canadian beef.
