China still is not accepting exports of Canadian beef after Canada reported an “atypical” bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE) case over a year ago.. Cow sitting in a fieldCow sitting in a field .An atypical BSE case happens spontaneously in older cattle and can even happen in countries that have never reported a single case of regular BSE..Most countries continued to accept Canadian beef after finding the atypical BSE case. However, China closed its markets to Canadian beef and has yet to open it or give a timeline for when it will accept it again..On Dec. 17, 2021, Canada reported the BSE case to the World Organization for Animal Health (OIE) as part of Canada’s BSE surveillance program..The two other markets closed to Canadian beef were South Korea and the Philippines. However, both countries resumed importing Canadian beef..China continues to import Canadian hides, but will not issue beef and beef product certificates for Canadian beef..The Canadian Cattle Association (formerly the Canadian Cattlemen’s Association) (CCA) spokesperson said there is “no update” on the importing of Canadian beef and the requirements to import into China again..Other Asian countries continued to be good export markets for Canadian beef, especially Japan..Gateway Livestock Exchange Marketing Analyst Anne Wasko said the Canadian beef exports continued to do well in the international markets..“The market did a great job of not missing a beat … beef flowed to other countries easily,” said Wasko. .“It really shows why market diversification is so important.”.According to the CCA spokesperson, the Canadian government is using a “low-key approach.” .“The less profile it gets, the easier it is for trade to resume,” said the CCA spokesperson..America made up the difference for China in the absence of Canadian beef, increasing beef exports to China by 10 million pounds per month over their 2021 exports..Canada and China had repeated trade issues over the last few years..In May 2021, China dropped its multi-year ban on exports of canola seed from several Canadian companies, which initially happened because there were pest issues in some shipments..Also in 2021, for four months China did not allow beef or pork imports. China found “falsified veterinary health certificates” on Canadian pork exports to China, which led to the ban.
