Canadian beef returning to Chinese markets for first time since 2021

China has lifted its years-long ban on Canadian beef exports — a move industry officials hope will contribute to the sector’s growth and support future market diversification.

Federal Agriculture Minister Heath MacDonald announced the ban’s removal Tuesday, following a recent trip to Beijing, adding he’s aware of a Canadian company shipping its first load of beef to China next week. 

Dennis Laycraft, executive vice-president of the Canadian Cattle Association, said the ban’s removal was a long time coming, and beef producers and processors are eager to get back into the Chinese market.

“Now that we have access again, we look forward to seeing our sales grow like they were growing prior to the suspension,” he said. 

China has blocked beef shipments from Canadian processing plants since December 2021, following an atypical case of bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE) on an Alberta farm.

At the time, South Korea and the Philippines also implemented bans, but lifted them two months later. China — which in 2021 was Canada’s fourth-largest beef export market — was the only country to maintain a ban.

The removal of the ban comes after Canada reached what Prime Minister Mark Carney called a “landmark” trade deal with China, allowing Chinese-made electric vehicles into the country in exchange for a break on tariffs for Canadian agricultural products, like canola seeds. 

While beef exports were not specified in the deal, one expert says improving the political and economic relationship between the two countries can have a positive trickle-down effect for other industries.

“The beef producers should be enthusiastic,” said Gordon Houlden, director emeritus of The China Institute at the University of Alberta.

“If we can lever an improved political relationship to help the beef industry, that’s a good thing,” Houlden added.

Although the ban was a blow for the industry in Canada, Laycraft said it also provided an opportunity for producers to look elsewhere.

He pointed to stronger relationships with Japan, South Korea, Taiwan, Mexico and the U.S., as examples of how the beef market has diversified since the ban.

The U.S. remains the beef industry’s largest and most significant importer. Laycraft said last year Canada exported $7 billion worth of beef and cattle, with $6 billion of that heading south of the border.

China lifting its ban, means the industry can continue to expand its market outside of those traditional partners, Laycraft said.