Beef imports from Australia are poised to hit a
tariff wall of 26.5 per cent because imports so far this year are running about
46 per cent ahead of last year.
When imports hit 35,000 tonnes, the Canadian tariff
kicks in.
Uruguay has already hit its Canadian tariff wall at
12,000 tonnes.
Canada’s beef herd has been decimated by a series
of challenges, including BSE (Bovine Spongiform Encephalopathy, or mad cow’s disease)
that cut off exports and cratered prices, United States Country of Origin
Labeling regulations that depressed Canadian cattle prices, a steep increase in feed costs when a
combination of drought and ethanol production set corn prices soaring and then
droughts hit Canadian pastures.
Now Canadian beef prices are near or above record
price levels, making imports extremely attractive.
The Australians are pushing for increased access to
markets as part of the Trans-Pacific Partnership trade negotiations which are
now coming close to a possible agreement.
