Search
Better Farming OntarioBetter PorkBetter Farming Prairies

Better Farming Ontario Featured Articles

Better Farming Ontario magazine is published 11 times per year. After each edition is published, we share featured articles online.


Levy on beef imports sets precedent

Monday, July 29, 2013

by SUSAN MANN

Canada’s beef industry will be the first commodity to collect a national levy on imported products and others will likely follow suit, predict federal industry leaders.

During a press conference at O’Brien Farms in Winchester, Ontario this morning, federal Agriculture Minister Gerry Ritz announced plans to introduce an amendment to the Beef Cattle Research, Market Development and Promotion Levies Order to include an import levy component.

The import levy will begin likely this fall and will charge importers $1 per head of cattle – the current levy for beef marketed in Canada. The amendment requires import levies to be the same as those imposed on domestic production.

The money it will generate – about $800,000 annually – “will help beef producers expand their markets, increase sales and fund research projects,” Ritz said.

Canada Beef Inc. (an industry organization which markets and promotes Canadian cattle and beef products worldwide), has been working with the Farm Products Council of Canada and others for about two years to introduce the import levy.

The Council, which supervises several national promotion and research agencies as well as Canada’s national supply-managed commodity agencies, finalized the rules authorizing the collection of the import levy on Monday night.

Laurent Pellerin, Council chairman, said the beef industry is once again leading the way to change rules the council administers. It was the first commodity to create a research and promotion agency in 2002. “Now they are the first to put in place this levy on imports, hoping that it will open the road for other farmer groups in this country.”

That seems to be already happening, Pellerin said in a telephone interview following the announcement. Strawberry, raspberry, blueberry, potato and pork industries are also considering promotion and research agencies, the prerequisite for qualifying for collecting import levies. "I am expecting in the next couple of months some other commodities to come along" to set up agencies under the Farm Products Agencies Act, he added.

Alberta farmer Chuck MacLean, chair of Canada Beef Inc., said the beef industry’s move paves the way for others in the agricultural industry to create “a more equitable relationship with other markets.”

The amendment to the federal order to include the levy on beef imports is, he said, “a major step in allowing the Canadian beef industry to benefit from a more equitable relationship with our trading partners.”

The organization plans to keep the momentum going and ensure the levy is collected once all procedures have been finalized and implemented, MacLean said.

Importers, who will be responsible for collecting the levy, will need an opportunity to get their bookkeeping and computers in line before collection starts. “We would like to start it in September or October but we need to make sure we have all the right criteria set up for them,” MacLean said during the press conference’s question period.

“This levy on imported cattle and beef cuts will help Canada Beef build on the great work it already does in beef promotion and research,” he said, noting the new levy will provide “a stable funding source for research, market development and promotion activities on beef and beef products.”

The Canadian Cattlemen’s Association said in a press release issued today it welcomed the levy on imports. The “move enables the levy to be applied equally to purchasers of domestic and imported cattle as well as imported beef.”

The association added that the United States has had an import levy on Canadian cattle since 1985. Now, Canada is on equal footing. BF

Current Issue

June/July 2025

Better Farming Magazine

Farms.com Breaking News

Ontario crops face mixed spring conditions

Tuesday, June 17, 2025

According to the Ontario Ministry of Agriculture Field Crop News, variable spring weather has created mixed crop conditions across the province. Rain, wind, and cool nighttime temperatures have delayed planting, slowed growth, and limited spraying windows for corn, soybeans, and... Read this article online

Health Canada sets rules for drone spraying

Monday, June 16, 2025

Health Canada has approved the use of drones, also called Remotely Piloted Aircraft Systems (RPAS), for pesticide application under the Pest Control Products Act (PCPA). Drones are considered aircraft by Transport Canada, but Health Canada treats them differently due to their unique... Read this article online

Canada Grows Hope Abroad

Friday, June 13, 2025

Toronto-based indoor farming company transforms food access in Moldova with first-of-its-kind humanitarian hydroponic project A new Canadian-led indoor farming project is changing lives in Moldova. Built by Just Vertical in partnership with GlobalMedic, the hydroponic farm is the first... Read this article online

BF logo

It's farming. And it's better.

 

a Farms.com Company

Subscriptions

Subscriber inquiries, change of address, or USA and international orders, please email: subscriptions@betterfarming.com or call 888-248-4893 x 281.


Article Ideas & Media Releases

Have a story idea or media release? If you want coverage of an ag issue, trend, or company news, please email us.

Follow us on Social Media

 

Sign up to a Farms.com Newsletter

 

DisclaimerPrivacy Policy2025 ©AgMedia Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
Back To Top