Canada Brand

Canadian Beef

Naturally the Best

What makes Canada one of the world's best beef producers? It's simple: Canada starts with the finest livestock, raised in a clean, natural environment and nourished with feed that produces the best beef available. Canadian ranchers and farmers are conscientious stewards of the land and ensure that their animals are well cared for. Furthermore, Canadian production and processing standards have been rigorously designed with the expectations of international customers in mind. The goal is to make sure customers always receive wholesome, top-quality beef, no matter whether it's fresh, frozen or processed for prepared foods.

Quality and variety

Canada's beef herd is built on British and European continental breeds known for their superior meat quality. Some of the more popular beef breeds in Canada are Angus, Hereford, Charolais and Simmental. These breeds are well-known for their ability to produce well-marbled, tender and flavourful beef.

These breeds also perform particularly well in Canada's temperate climate, which allows producers to raise beef breeds based solely on their ability to produce high quality beef. Competitors in warmer climates have to factor in a breeding trait to resist heat, which significantly affects the quality of the product.

Canada is blessed with millions of acres of wide-open grassland and millions more acres for grain production. Both of these factors contribute to the production of high-quality beef cattle. Canadian cattle finish in feedlots where they receive the optimal amount of grain to produce beef products that consistently meet consumer expectations.

The industry is also developing many value-added products. With trimming, aging, forming and portioning, it can deliver beef cuts and processed beef to customers' exact specifications. Where customers require specialty products such as halal-certified, kosher, natural and organic beef, Canadian beef producers can satisfy that demand.

Healthy and safe

Canadian beef is primarily produced to service the high-quality, grain-fed beef market and offers many advantages to the buyer based on quality and safety attributes.

The Canadian grading system has marbling standards that ensure the highest grades are free from quality deficiencies such as dark cutters, yellow fat cover or poor muscle texture. All these attributes guarantee the highest quality beef eating experience for the consumer and profit potential for the retailer and foodservice client. Canada's national beef grading system is independently verified by an accredited third party, the Canadian Beef Grading Agency (CBGA). Once certified, beef graders are regularly audited by CBGA and the Canadian Food Inspection Agency.

In addition to providing quality beef to customers, Canadian beef products are among the safest in the world. Food safety is always a top priority for beef producers. Canada's mandatory National Cattle Identification System, animal disease prevention practices and surveillance programs ensure that any potential hazards are minimized. Any problems can be quickly identified and traced to the source for immediate corrective action.

The Canadian Food Inspection Agency monitors the entire supply chain to make sure that all products comply with Canada's stringent safety regulations.

Canadian ranchers and farmers take pride in caring for their animals and their land. Their practices are underpinned by an industry code of practices that defines standards of care for cattle handling, feeding, housing, and transportation. Consumers of Canadian beef can feel good knowing that it was “raised right.”

Taste the Canadian difference

Meticulous breeding, careful stock-raising and state-of-the-art processing facilities mean that the taste, quality and satisfaction that comes from Canadian beef is unequalled anywhere. For further information on Canada's beef industry, please visit:

Government websites

• Agri-Food Trade Service
  www.ats-sea.agr.gc.ca
• Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada: Red Meat
  www.agr.gc.ca/redmeat
• Foreign Affairs and International Trade Canada
  www.international.gc.ca

Industry websites

• Beef Information Centre
  www.beefinfo.org
• Canadian Beef Breeds Council
  www.canadianbeefbreeds.com
• Canada Beef Inc.
  www.canadabeef.ca
• Canadian Cattlemen's Association
  www.cattle.ca
• Canadian Meat Council
  www.cmc-cvc.com

Trade Statistics

The following tables represent Canada's total trade in a given export commodity based on Statistics Canada data. The product categories represent HS code groupings and have not been modified. In most cases, statistics have been presented at the 6 or 8 digit level. Statistics are presented in Canadian dollars and are complete through year end 2010.

HS Codes

• 020110 - Bovine carcasses and half carcasses, fresh or chilled
• 02012090 - Bovine cuts bone in, nes, fresh or chilled
• 02013090 - Bovine cuts boneless, nes, fresh or chilled
• 020210 - Bovine carcasses and half carcasses, frozen
• 020220 - Bovine cuts bone in, frozen
• 020230 - Bovine cuts boneless, frozen
• 020610 - Bovine edible offal, fresh or chilled
• 020621 - Bovine tongues, edible offal, frozen
• 020622 - Bovine livers, edible offal, frozen
• 020629 - Bovine edible offal, frozen nes
• 021020 - Bovine meat cured
• 160250 - Bovine meat and meat offal nes, excluding livers, prepared or preserved