Oil-rich countries could be the next buyers of Canadian beef.
Canada Beef Export Federation has hired the British agri-food consulting firm Gira to study the potential of beef markets in the Middle East and North Africa.
“We have a very clear view that this is a growing and increasingly attractive beef export opportunity for everybody including you,” Gira director Richard Brown said at the federation’s recent annual meeting in Calgary.
“It is an extremely diverse market with many different segments, which we must understand clearly.”
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Large multinational processors from the United States, Australia and South America operate offices in some of the key markets and are willing to work with buyers to give them what they want.
He said market access remains an issue, and the Canadian Food Inspection Agency must push to clear BSE barriers, address the use of growth hormones and meet each country’s ritual halal requirements.
Populations are growing in countries such as Saudi Arabia, United Arab Emirates, Lebanon and Iran. Oil revenue is improving living standards and a developing tourist trade, especially in Egypt and UAE, is boosting meat consumption and demand.
Most domestic consumers are Muslim so halal processing is required. They want the front quarter cuts, and the meat is usually ground or stewed.
Meeting halal requirements may be easier for smaller plants, especially those in Eastern Canada where freight is less.
“You have to be absolutely clear on the details of the regulations,” Brown said.
The high end tourist market is attractive, but Canada must compete against the United States and Australia, which are already established there.
“Shipping of beef to this part of the world for tourists to eat is very definitely a segment of the market we are interested in,” he said.
Another segment is immigrant workers, mostly men from India and Pakistan working in the region and sending money home. They are often poor and eat mostly low cost buffalo meat imported from India.
Saudi Arabia brings in about half of its beef from India and nearly as much again from Brazil. It imported 92,000 tonnes in 2006 with an average price of about $2.10 US per kilogram.
