China’s ongoing ban on Canadian beef appears to have no end in sight, making it a textbook example of the uncertainty Canadian exporters continue to face in that market.
Shock waves went through Canada’s agricultural industry earlier this month after China launched an anti-dumping investigation into Canadian canola imports, an apparent response to Canada’s decision in August to hike tariffs on Chinese-made electric vehicles.
The investigation could result in China imposing heavy tariffs on Canadian canola, a move that could mean a $1-billion hit to Canadian farmers and exporters, according to a DBRS Morningstar estimate.
But well before canola was caught in the crossfire, Canadian beef was already facing difficulties in the Chinese market. China has been blocking beef shipments from Canadian processing plants for almost three years, ever since an atypical case of bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE) was found on an Alberta farm in December 2021.