Prime Minister Stephen Harper welcomes full market access for Canadian beef exports to Hong Kong

December 06, 2009

HONG KONG – Prime Minister Stephen Harper announced today that Canada has regained full access for Canadian beef to the key export market of Hong Kong following a meeting with Donald Tsang, Chief Executive of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region.
 
“Achieving full access to an important market such as Hong Kong sends a strong signal to the entire Asia-Pacific region that Canadian beef is safe and that Canada’s food safety systems are grounded in sound science,” said the Prime Minister.  “This deal is further proof that our Government is expanding trade so that our farmers can sell to more customers in the international market.”
 
Hong Kong is a key market for the Canadian agriculture sector and is worth more than half a billion dollars for Canada’s farmers and processors.  In 2008, Hong Kong was Canada’s fourth largest export market for beef.
 

Backgrounder

RENEWED ACCESS FOR CANADIAN BEEF TO HONG KONG MARKET

Today’s announcement represents the resumption of full market access for Canadian beef and is the result of a six-year effort to expand access to include all Canadian beef exports to Hong Kong’s market.  In 2008, Canadian beef exports to Hong Kong were valued at $34 million, making Hong Kong Canada’s fourth largest beef export market.
 
The Canada Beef Export Federation (CBEF) estimates that full access to this important market could mean an increase in Canadian beef exports to Hong Kong by as much as $26 million. 
 
Hong Kong closed its beef market to Canada following the discovery of Bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE) in a Canadian cow in 2003.  Since then, Canada has strengthened existing BSE measures and introduced new ones to protect human and animal health, maintain consumer confidence in Canadian beef products and support market access for cattle, beef and related products.
 
In December 2004, Hong Kong granted Canada access for boneless beef derived from cattle under thirty months of age (UTM) and since then Canada has been negotiating staged access for various types of beef.