Global Market Perspective and Opportunities from Dr. Kee Jim

Canada has a very vibrant, energy-driven economy. But the math is simple, it’s in trouble.

If Canada doesn’t increase its markets outside North America, the country will become a domestic producer. This will equate to a significant downsizing of the beef industry.

“The blend of politics and science creates strange offspring,” said Dr. Kee Jim. Rather than the past all-or-nothing approach Canada has had to re-establishing trade, Jim thinks the country should pursue incremental access.

Even though Canada and the United States have the same BSE classification with the OIE, Canada lacks the trade leverage with other countries to force open market access. Canada has struggled to regain meaningful, economically effective access to the markets that closed as a result of finding BSE in 2003.

Whether Canada regains overseas market access in the next three to five years will determine whether its current beef industry survives.