Prime Minister Trudeau announced today that Canadian beef and pork exports to China will resume.
In a tweet, Trudeau said “Good news for Canadian farmers today. Canadian pork and beef exports will resume. Thanks to Ambassador [Dominic] Barton and the Canadian meat industry for their work on re-opening this important market for our meat producers and their families.
Meat exports between Canada and China came to a halt in June after Chinese authorities reportedly discovered residue of ractopamine, a banned additive, in a batch of pork products.
The Canadian Food Inspection confirmed later than the export certificate for the shipment was illegitimate.
The trade dispute was just a small part of the diplomatic tensions between the two countries caused by the arrest of Meng Wanzhou, an executive for the Chinese tech giant Huawei, in Vancouver last year.
Federal Ag Minister Marie- Claude Bibeau and International Trade Diversification Minister Jim Carr issued a joint statement saying that their departments have been busy working with the CFIA and the embassy in Beijing to engage with the Chinese government over the past few months.
They added that they will continue to work closely with everyone involved in the coming days and weeks to make sure the resumption of trade is a success.
Many experts believe that the toll that African Swine Fever has had on China’s pork industry, may have influenced the country to resolve the dispute.
While the door for meat exports is reopened, the same can’t be said for canola exports.
