The beef industry plans to launch a unique brand this year touting the advantages of buying Canadian at home and abroad.
Canada fills about three to six percent of the U.S. beef requirements, and the product will have to stand on its own merit when mandatory country-of-origin labelling (COOL) requirements become law in the United States in the fall.
The Beef information Centre (BIC), Canada Beef Export Federation and Canada Beef Breeds Association are developing the label to promote an identity for Canadian beef.
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“It is not sustainable to buy market share,” said BIC chief executive officer Glenn Brand. “You have got to be able to differentiate your product in that marketplace.”
Differentiation is based on the concept of a premium product backed by superior genetics, high standards for food safety and a more discerning grading system.
“We are going to take that brand mark and leverage it with customers in retail and food service to help offset potential imports out of the U.S.,” he said at the annual Alberta Beef Producers meeting in Calgary.
ABP contributed $720,000 to the brand development campaign, which was matched by the Alberta livestock industry development fund.
When COOL comes into effect in the fall, Canada will need that brand to assure buyers they are complying with the labelling rule and receiving a premium product.
Exporters also plan to shift as much beef through American food service as possible because it does not require the same labels.
To promote domestic beef sales, BIC continues its campaign to buy Canadian. It is working with large restaurant and grocery store chains, but Eastern Canada is buying more American product to fill demand because packers there are not killing as many cattle and they cannot always fill orders for specific feature items.
Canada exported 469,000 tonnes of beef to the U.S. in 2005 and 359,000 tonnes in 2006. The 2007 numbers are expected to be similar because packers are struggling to stay in business and do not always have enough product to meet order requests.
“The most significant factor is the competitiveness of the Canadian plants driven by labour shortages, SRM (specified risk material) removal and the added kill cost per head of running at 65 percent versus the U.S. plants running at 90 or 95 percent,” Brand said.
