More than 2,200 purebred beef and dairy cattle are on their way to Russia.
The ship was expected to arrive in Novorossiysk, the main Russian port on the Black Sea, by Nov. 7, said Gary Smith of Alta Exports International Ltd.
The shipment includes 1,000 bred Angus heifers, 50 Angus bulls, 800 Holstein heifers, 17 Holstein bulls, 340 bred Hereford heifers and 10 Hereford bulls from 400 farms in six provinces. The combined sale is worth close to $4 million.
This shipment is the largest overseas sale of breeding cattle since a Canadian BSE discovery halted international trade in 2003. The cattle are destined for five buyers in Russia.
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The deals must be carefully managed from start to finish.
The cattle went into quarantine at four different locations for 21 days.
“With that many cattle you have got to do that. If you have a breakout of something bad and have 2,300 head all at one place, you’ve got a problem,” said Smith, who owns Alta Exports International.
Alta Exports has exported 5,700 breeding animals to Russia and Kazakhstan this year.
The Russians are rebuilding their cattle herds following the collapse of the Soviet Union.
“They are trying to rebuild an industry that was decimated,” he said.
“They are huge importers of low quality meat. Their aim is to try and increase the volume and improve the quality of what they can produce.”
The company will train the Russian buyers in livestock management and nutrition once the cattle arrive.
Canada has been able to supply quality breeding stock because of good cattle, a working identification system, a favourable exchange rate and a ban on European cattle because of a widespread bluetongue outbreak this summer.
Alta Exports International markets livestock, embryos, genetic technologies and semen in specific export markets. The company is active in a number of technology transfer projects that provide expertise in embryo production and management, semen production and large embryo projects in Russia and China.
This program is funded in part under Agriculture Canada’s Canadian Agri-Food International program and through the Long Term International Strategy that Canadian Beef Breeds Council runs on behalf of Canada’s purebred beef cattle producers.
Dairy management training will also be provided and is partially funded through the Canadian Livestock Genetics Association.
