The Canadian cattle industry says it may have lost as much as $90 million because of the United States dumping duty imposed last year.
That’s in addition to the $6 million spent by the industry to defend itself against allegations that Canadian cattle were being dumped into the U.S. market at below cost of production.
“There was a hidden cost to every cattle producer,” said Gary Sargent, general manager of the Alberta Cattle Commission.
The duty meant a higher cost to move Canadian cattle to packing plants in the U.S. That offered processors in Canada a chance to lower the prices they were offering.
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The downward adjustment in cattle prices cost producers somewhere between $50 to $90 million, said Dennis Laycraft, executive vice-president of the Canadian Cattlemen’s Association.
Effects of the price adjustment were felt most heavily in Eastern Canada.
Graeme Hedley, executive vice-president of the Ontario Cattlemen’s Association, said the adjustment in Ontario amounted to $55 to $65 per head, depending on the size of the animal. That averaged out to $5.50 per hundredweight.
“The market price here in Ontario adjusted downward by the full amount of the duty,” Hedley said.
An expansion of Alberta’s packing industry helped soften the impact in Western Canada, said Sargent. He estimated the price for slaughter cattle in the West dropped an average of $1.50 per cwt. because of the levy.
The duty went into effect July 1 following allegations by the Ranchers-Cattlemen Action Legal Fund (R-Calf) that Canadians were dumping cattle into the American market.
The U.S. international trade commission ruled Nov. 9 that Canadian exports do not harm the American industry. The duty on Canadian cattle was lifted in late November.
“The big win is the fact that the duty is not going to be in place for the next five years,” said Sargent.
“That would have had a huge cost to the industry.”
Money collected, believed to be between $12 to $15 million, is to be refunded.
