Market News

Canadian Cattle Ban Lifted

Canadian cattle have started moving across the border into the United States again. Southward cattle sales ground to a halt when a case of bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE) was discovered in an Alberta cow in May 2003. The United States was about to lift the ban in March when U.S. District Judge Richard Cebull granted an injunction to a ranchers' group. It argued that trade with Canada would pose a threat to American consumers and cattle producers. The first shipment took place in mid-July, from Ontario to New York. The U.S. border is now open to a broad range of meat products, including cattle and bison that are less than 30 months of age, and goats and sheep that are less than 12 months of age. The cattle might have crossed even earlier, say a three-judge Circuit Court of Appeals panel that recently ruled that Cebull overstated the potential harm of allowing limited shipments of Canadian cattle into the States. The more-than-two-year moratorium on cattle exports has cost Canadian beef producers an estimated $7 billion. Source: Canadian Grocer E-Newsletter, July 29, 2005.