CALGARY – Canadian beef salespeople are continuing to chip away at foreign markets but the best customers could be at home.
Gary Creelman, who heads the ACC market development committee, said Quebec purchased 136,000 tonnes of Alberta beef worth $500 million in 1993.
“Let’s pay attention to home,” he said.
For the first nine months of 1994, Japan bought 6,000 tonnes of beef. Purchases are expected to exceed 8,000 tonnes by year end and are worth $39 million to Canada.
South Korea will buy about 1,800 tonnes worth $9 million by year end, said Ted Haney of the Canada Beef Export Federation. CBEF is an independent organization of beef producers and processors whose goal is to sell 10 percent of Canada’s production to the Pacific Rim by the year 2000.
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While the efforts of the export federation were praised at the Alberta Cattle Commission annual meeting, some delegates questioned whether more emphasis shouldn’t be placed at home.
Creelman also sees more opportunities in the United States because of increasing pressure by environmental groups to remove cattle from federal grazing lands.
Other delegates agreed, saying more promotion dollars should be targeted at the domestic market. Last year the commission gave the beef export federation $150,000.
Funds ready for markets
More money for market development will be coming from the newly created industry development fund. This was left in the national tripartite red meat stabilization program by people who opted out of program before it ended this summer.
Ben McEwan, executive officer for the federation, said $12.7 million over five years will be available to enrich market development. Some of these funds could be channeled to the export federation.
“Any funds that are allocated would not be replacing existing sources of funding, either from the private sector or from government. There is not a matching component,” he told the ACC.
The first transfer of money could come in the first quarter of 1995 after appointments to the board to administer the funds are made, said ACC past-chair Larry Sears.
An ACC resolution had requested $500,000 for the beef export federation, however this was defeated.
“This is too much money to invest for one percent of our production,” said delegate Joan Hughson of Foremost.
In defence of the export federation Haney said, “nobody is interested in the success of Canadian beef outside Canada except for our own industry.
“Our clients are willing to work with us but they can get the product elsewhere from either Australia or the United States. They don’t need us,” he said.
Boxed beef imports up
Figures from the U.S. National Cattlemen’s Association show boxed beef imports from Canada were up 18 percent from 1993.
However that’s not a concern because replacement imports of Australian and New Zealand beef into Canada are down by 14 and 18 percent respectively, said Chuck Lambert, vice-president of research and industry information.
As of mid-November, 629,000 slaughter cattle were imported from Canada through four states: Idaho, Washington, North Dakota and Montana, down two percent for the same time last year.
