U.S. companies opt to export to Canada as border closures disrupt business
Global News
President Joe Biden's administration drew a stark contrast last week when it extended the travel ban at the Canada-U.S. border.
In the before times, Katie McCarron could count on her best Canadian customers to make the trip to her store in Portland, Oregon, to stock up on their favourite high-quality, human-grade pet food.
COVID-19 had other plans. Soon enough, though, so did Portland Pet Food Co.
“Some of them would just be shopping in Portland, and we’d hear that they had been here, or they’d write us and they’d be asking, ‘How can I order your food online with the border closed?” the B.C.-born McCarron said in a recent interview.
In the United States, however, every international shipment of pet food products requires a special health certificate, making it impossible for a small retailer like Portland Pet Food to offer online sales outside of the country.
“We can’t ship to Canada — it’s just too costly, and we do have to get these certificates issued each time we ship. So I just had to pursue getting into distribution.”
Today, thanks in large part to a deal with the Canadian chain Pet Valu, Portland Pet Food is available in more than 500 specialty retailers in Canada, an expansion that equates to about 25 per cent of the company’s worldwide retail footprint.
McCarron clearly already had expansion on her mind before the pandemic hit. Portland products are already available in Japan, and she recently signed an agreement for distribution in China. Korea and Taiwan are next on her list.
But the ongoing ban on non-essential land travel from Canada to the U.S., tentatively extended now for a 19th month until Oct. 21, drove home the importance of winning shelf space in a part of the world where crossing the border is no longer as easy as it once was.