The federal government recently announced new market access for live cattle exports to the Philippines.
Canadian Beef Breeds Council Executive Director, Michael Latimer, says the Philippines isn't a large market, but it does add value.
"I think what it really does is it shows there's a lot of trust and faith in our genetics, and in our live cattle, from the international community. I think that's really where we get excited when we start seeing nontraditional markets looking for the genetics our producers work really hard to raise and provide the best quality beef in the world."
Latimer says they're not sure which breed will be the most popular for export yet.
"Certainly it's a lot warmer in the Philippines, so they'll need some cattle that are able to adapt to that climate. It depends on the meat characteristics that their people are looking for, or the management conditions. We'll be eagerly awaiting to see what the Philippines are looking for."
He adds, the biggest market their still working to regain live cattle access to is China.
"We used to export a number of beef cattle, but also dairy cattle, to China. That was stopped in 2003 with discovery a case of BSE (bovine spongiform encephalopathy) here in Canada, and we've been slowly working on gaining that market access back."
Latimer says, regaining this market access looks promising, as there's lots of interest from China.
Source : Steinbachonline