CALGARY – For many Chinese, beef is not a food staple, but that doesn’t diminish the huge market potential being eyed by Canadian beef exporters.
Canada Beef Export Federation members are launching an aggressive campaign to get 14,000 tonnes of Canadian beef into China by 2005. With population projections at 1.3 billion within 10 years and 45 million tourists visiting there each year, that goal may not be out of line.
A study commissioned by Canada Beef to assess market opportunities in China advised exporters to move quickly. The study was conducted jointly by Serecon Management Consultants of Edmonton and independent consultants Paul MacInnes and Ralph Ashmead.
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“We feel there is a market for beef there. It will depend on the effort and energy put into marketing strategies,” said Ashmead during the federation’s annual meeting Sept. 30 in Calgary.
The consultants advised Canadians to start work immediately by inviting Chinese inspectors to tour beef packing facilities here.
Then a Chinese partner should be found. Together, they can set up a distribution point, method of payment and an easy way to clear paperwork as the meat orders come in, they said.
Joint ventures like developing beef processing plants in China offer another option.
But China should not be considered an area to dump poor quality meat. It should be given priority as a top end market where price, quality, image and brand recognition are key elements, said Don Hoover of Serecon.
He said China doesn’t have a beef quantity deficit but it is quality deficient.
China’s total meat production in 1990 was 28.6 million tonnes. In 1993, 38.4 million tonnes were available. Beef makes up only a fraction of the total meat consumed. The latest figures available from 1993 show beef production was 2.3 million tonnes. Of that, 85 percent of the beef came from draft animals and cull cows.
Pork is the most popular meat at 22 kilograms per person. Comparatively, each person ate 3.9 kg of poultry and 1.5 kg of beef.
Projections for the year 2000 suggest total meat consumption will double to 47 kg as the Chinese economy continues to expand and people are able to afford more meat.
In 1993, China imported 2,000 tonnes of beef from Brazil, Argentina, Australia and the United States, said Ted Haney, executive vice-president of the beef export federation.
By 1997, China is expected to import more than 12,000 tonnes of beef and by 2005, 70,250 tonnes may be purchased. Most of it will go to restaurants and hotels.
