Harper Government Opens New Markets for Canadian Livestock Producers

August 20, 2010

Ottawa, Ontario - Canadian breeding cattle are back in Colombia after almost 10 years of trade restrictions, Agriculture Minister Gerry Ritz announced today.
"This success story for the cattle industry demonstrates how this Government is delivering concrete results for Canadian livestock producers," said Minister Ritz. "This first shipment of high quality, Canadian cattle shows how important our partnership is with Colombia - a market full of new agricultural trade opportunities that will make a difference to the bottom line of Canadian farmers."

After years of work by the Harper Government and the Canadian cattle industry, sixty Canadian heifers will be exported to Colombia for breeding purposes and milk production. This is an exciting development for Colombian breeders who can now benefit from Canada's world-class genetics to improve quality and production of local livestock.

"Once implemented, the recently finalized Canada-Colombia Free Trade Agreement will help our agriculture industry and will pay great dividends for our entire economy year after year," said International Trade Minister Peter Van Loan. "Our Government will continue to work to strengthen the economy so that Canada can continue to pull out of this global economic recession and become stronger than ever."

"Canadian Livestock Genetics Association (CLGA) and Jersey Canada are pleased to see Canadian cattle going to Colombia once again and are particularly proud that the first animals to be exported are Jerseys!," said Russell Gammon, Executive Secretary of Jersey Canada and President of CLGA. "We congratulate the buyers and the sellers and we thank Minister Ritz for his ongoing personal commitment to maximize global market access for Canadian livestock genetics products. Working with government and industry in both countries, CLGA played an important role in restoring market access."

Last April, Minister Ritz and International Trade Minister Van Loan announced the reopening of the Colombian market to Canadian cattle. Colombia was the first country in South America to reopen its market to Canadian cattle since 2003, which has a market value estimated by the industry to be worth more than $2 million a year.