WINNIPEG — Britain exported beef to Canada at a record pace in 2024.
From January to the end of November, British companies shipped $39 million worth of beef to Canada. That’s up 174 per cent from 2023, when the United Kingdom exported $14 million in beef to Canada in the same time period.
The Agriculture and Horticulture Development Board (AHDB), a group supported by a levy collected from British farmers, touted sales to Canada in a beef market outlook published this winter.
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“2024 was a stronger year for U.K. beef exports. Volumes to the EU increased, namely France and the Netherlands,” the AHDB said.
“Shipments to markets further afield experienced growth too, particularly Canada and Hong Kong.”
Meanwhile, from January to November last year, Canada did not export any beef to Britain, says Statistics Canada.
The severe imbalance in beef trade has been a major irritant for Canadian cattle producers and was partially responsible for ending trade talks between the two countries.
One year ago, on Jan. 25 after free trade discussions came to a halt, a spokesperson for the British government posted on X that they “reserve the right to pause negotiations with any country (Canada) if progress is not being made.”
That lack of progress centred around beef.
The U.K. government took a hard-line position on Canada, saying it will never accept beef in the British market produced with growth hormones.
That stance provoked the Canadian Cattle Association, which launched a campaign to keep the the U.K. out of the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership, a trade deal between Pacific nations.
The British position is not based in science and is disconnected from Canada’s global reputation for food safety, the CCA says.
“Unfortunately, the U.K. has shown no indication that it is prepared to fully accept Canada’s food safety system, which is widely recognized as one of the finest in the world,” the CCA said in a news release one year ago.
“The U.K. currently has unlimited access for British beef exports to Canada while Canadian beef producers are unable to export into the U.K. market.”
The federal government and Canada’s high commissioner to Britain, Ralph Goodale, have defended cattle producers and the safety of Canadian beef.
In a Western Producer op ed, Goodale said the U.K. ban is nothing but a “non-tariff trade barrier.”
“It’s also exceedingly unfair,” he wrote.
“A negotiated remedy needs to be found.”
Now that U.S. president Donald Trump has decided to launch a trade and economic war against Canada, with never-ending threats of 25 percent tariffs and comments about the 51st state, there could be an opening for the U.K. and Canada to resume trade discussions.
Goodale said in a politico.eu story published Feb. 5 that there’s value in reviving talks.
“We now have both a great opportunity and a great reason to work really hard at trade diversification,” he said.
“It would be helpful to take another go at that (Canada-U.K. trade) and see what we can accomplish in the shortest possible time.”
Unfortunately, having a free trade deal is no guarantee of access for Canadian agri-food products in Europe or Britain.
The Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement (CETA) between Canada and the EU has been in force since 2017, but Canada is still struggling to sell beef, pork and other ag products to European customers.
Canadian exports to Europe are exceptionally low, seeing how CETA provides Canada with a tariff free quota into the EU of 50,000 tonnes of fresh and frozen beef.
In the first 11 months of 2024, the EU shipped $92 million of beef to Canada, Statistics Canada says.
Exports to Europe were worth $14 million, down 40 per cent from 2023.
The EU imports about $3 billion of beef annually, mostly from South America.
Contact robert.arnason@producer.com
