The Canadian Cattle Association (CCA) President Nathan Phinney and Executive Vice President Dennis Laycraft participated in the Minister of Agriculture and Agri-Food, the Honourable Marie-Claude Bibeau’s trade reception in Tokyo on April 20, 2023, and met with Japanese media and retail customers in Japan.
“Japan is now our largest export customer in Asia and purchased over $500 million of Canadian Beef in 2022. The demand for high-quality Canadian beef continues to grow.” said Phinney. “Japan is one of our most trusted trading partners and a very important and reliable market today and for the future.”
Further growth is expected with the recent opening of processed beef products. Phinney added, “from our trip, it was clear that our Japanese customers are looking to Canada as a dependable and secure source of high-quality grain fed beef and are looking for more product.”
This is CCA’s first trade mission to Asia since the pandemic and included a reception at the Canadian Embassy in Tokyo with Japanese businesses, importers, and retailers. CCA was able to meet Ambassador Ian McKay, the current Canadian ambassador to Japan, who was also recently appointed the Special Envoy to the Indo-Pacific. In this role, Mr. McKay will be leading the Government’s Indo-Pacific Strategy.
Trade Facts
Since the start of the Comprehensive Progressive Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP) in 2017, and the removal of tariffs that followed, Canadian beef exports increased 192 per cent to Japan.
Under CPTPP, Japan’s 38.5 per cent tariff on beef imports will decrease to 23.35 per cent by April 1, 2023, and will go down to 9 per cent by 2033.
In 2022, Canada exported C$518 million in beef and beef products, reaching half a billion dollars.