I don't really want to gloat over someone else' misfortune but this story had me feeling a little bit like doing just that. American cattlemen may have outsmarted themselves by unreasonably keeping the border closed to Canadian live cattle. I can't help but hope that the Canadian cattle industry is indeed capable of turning this unfair border closing around to expose the hidden silver lining. Expanding our markets and relying less on the American market can only be good for us in the long run and I for one am tired of being taken for granted by our large trading partner to the south.
No offense guys but it's hard to see so many of our industries unfairly targeted by large american corporate interests in spite of repeated rulings by the world trade organization in Canada's favour. It feels good to have a little payback sometimes. Even if it's only a hint of good news, it's still welcome, a little hope is better than none.
And some experts predict the Canadian beef industry actually stands to come out ahead of the U.S. system, if Canada continues to ramp up its own processing facilities and court other foreign markets.
The Canadian industry has lost an estimated $7 billion since international borders slammed shut to Canadian cattle two years ago when a cow in Alberta was discovered with the wasting disease known as mad cow, or bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE).
American producers reaped the benefits almost immediately. Cattle prices soared south of the border and ranchers had no competition when it came to finding slaughterhouses to process their beef.
But the tables appear to be turning.
In an affidavit attached to a recent American Meat Institute court motion to reopen the U.S. border to Canadian cattle, Thomas Rosen, president of the Rosen Meat Group, said the lack of Canadian animals to process will mean the end of some slaughterhouses in the U.S.
IA
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