Manufacturing beef from the UK given green light from Canada

Manufacturing beef from the UK can at last be exported to Canada after inspectors said the product could be tested to the microbiological standards required by the Canadian authorities.

Initial agreement for the trade was reached in 2015 and shipments are now free to begin immediately.

AHDB International Market Development Director Dr Phil Hadley said it had taken a lot of hard work to reach this stage.

“We already have market access for sheep meat into Canada and beef primals have been going over since 2015,” he said.

“To have reached a stage where we have all the testing in place to satisfy inspectors with regards to ecoli is brilliant.

“This is a great opportunity for processors and producers in the UK and is another outlet for our product, which in turn helps underpin farm gate prices.”

In 2016, Canada imported 147,000 tonnes of fresh and frozen beef. Of this, 55 per cent came from the US. The UK sent 412 tonnes of primal cuts.