{"id":50053,"date":"2026-05-18T14:30:36","date_gmt":"2026-05-18T14:30:36","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/canada\/50053\/"},"modified":"2026-05-18T14:30:36","modified_gmt":"2026-05-18T14:30:36","slug":"canada-beef-returns-to-china-with-diversification-plan-canadian-cattlemen","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/canada\/50053\/","title":{"rendered":"Canada Beef returns to China with diversification plan- Canadian Cattlemen"},"content":{"rendered":"

In April, Canada Beef embarked on its first trip to China since the restoration of market access, due in part to the inroads achieved in this market since January 2026 and an export diversification strategy focused on the markets with the most promise for Canadian beef.<\/p>\n

Canada Beef vice-president, export market development, Albert Eringfeld participated in activities in Haikou, Beijing and Shanghai during the trip, which ran April 10 to 18. Canadian beef was featured prominently at special events throughout the trip, including a Taste of Canada cooking demonstration, a Canadian beef promotional dinner and a Canadian government reception.<\/p>\n

Why it matters<\/p>\n

China market access was restored earlier this year, but access alone doesn\u2019t move product. This trip \u2014 paired with simultaneous activity in the Philippines, Vietnam and Japan \u2014 is the first concrete signal of how Canada Beef intends to convert that access into demand, and how it\u2019s hedging against over-reliance on any single Asian market.<\/p>\n

China mission spans Haikou, Beijing and Shanghai<\/p>\n

Activities in Haikou included participation in the China Consumer Products Expo in conjunction with Alberta Minister of Agriculture and Irrigation RJ Sigurdson and Canadian Minister of International Trade Maninder Sidhu.<\/p>\n

Events in Beijing included meetings with the Canadian Embassy and Canadian Trade Commissioner Service China representatives. In Shanghai, meetings were scheduled with Canadian beef suppliers\u2019 representatives in China and their key Canadian beef importers and retail clients.<\/p>\n

Read Also<\/p>\n


\n \"A
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Canada Beef\u2019s April 2026 China itinerary<\/p>\n

Haikou: China Consumer Products Expo, attended with Alberta Minister of Agriculture and Irrigation RJ Sigurdson and federal Minister of International Trade Maninder Sidhu.<\/p>\n

Beijing: Meetings with Canadian Embassy and Canadian Trade Commissioner Service representatives.<\/p>\n

Shanghai: Meetings with Canadian beef suppliers\u2019 in-market representatives and their key Chinese importers and retail clients.<\/p>\n

Broader Asia push runs in parallel<\/p>\n

Other recent efforts included a series of Canadian beef promotions, merchandising and culinary workshops, trade shows and seminars in the Philippines and Vietnam. More than 300 guests attended the workshops and seminars in each country, with many more visiting the Canada Beef booth at the Food and Hospitality Show in Vietnam.<\/p>\n

Canada Beef president Eric Bienvenue attended the Supermarket Trade Show in February. The show attracted nearly 81,000 buyers, setting a record for the highest daily attendance of any food trade show in Japan. Bienvenue also held productive meetings with current and prospective customers and discussed market opportunities, challenges and future marketing initiatives, with in-market partners.<\/p>\n

Canada Beef in Asia: recent activity<\/p>\n

China: First mission since market access was restored, April 10 to 18.<\/p>\n

Philippines and Vietnam: Promotions, merchandising and culinary workshops, with 300-plus guests at workshops and seminars in each country. Canada Beef booth at Vietnam\u2019s Food and Hospitality Show.<\/p>\n

Japan: Canada Beef president Eric Bienvenue at February\u2019s Supermarket Trade Show, which drew nearly 81,000 buyers \u2014 a daily attendance record for a Japanese food trade show.<\/p>\n

Nutrition research and the CCHS data gap<\/p>\n

Canada Beef\u2019s efforts to build awareness about the nutritional benefits of beef often involve reviewing the research an organization cites as evidence supporting its decision-making, to assess the information for timeliness and relevance to the issue at hand.<\/p>\n

Canada Beef recently conducted a generalized review of red meat research that identified several common methodological factors capable of distorting outcomes in red meat studies. For example, Karine Rekunyk, Canada Beef\u2019s director of health and nutrition, said recent analysis indicated that researchers may classify all processed meat as processed red meat, by using the term \u201cred and processed meat,\u201d thus skewing consumption results.<\/p>\n

\"Canada<\/p>\n

A Canada Beef infographic drawing on 2015 Canadian Community Health Survey data underscores why the organization is pushing for an updated national nutrition survey \u2014 the same dataset Health Canada cited in its December 2025 review of Canada\u2019s Food Guide.
\n Photo:
\n Canada Beef<\/p>\n

Rekunyk explained that the common approach of research grouping \u201cred and processed meat\u201d as one category is inappropriate, given their different nutritional profiles and can lead to inaccurate conclusions. Misclassification of meat skews intake estimates and can give the false impression that people eat more red meat than they do. She noted high-quality studies that have examined red meat and health outcomes challenge the conclusions about unprocessed red meat often seen in red meat studies.<\/p>\n

Additional points raised in Canada Beef\u2019s nutrition report, \u201cCommon Methodological Limitations of Red Meat Research,\u201d on ThinkBeef.ca, and summarized here include:<\/p>\n

Evidence about red meat and health often relies on epidemiological studies. The nature of this evidence limits conclusions about red meat and health.<\/p>\n

Many studies used \u201ca priori\u201d research methods. These pre-assign red and processed meat as \u201cnegative\u201d dietary components, along with other \u201cnegative\u201d dietary components such as refined grains and sugar-sweetened foods and beverages.<\/p>\n

Reduced red meat intake in Canada may have unintended health consequences.<\/p>\n

Canada Beef provided its findings to the Canadian Cattle Association food policy committee as part of its role to assist industry\u2019s policy groups to advocate on important issues.<\/p>\n

Push for an updated CCHS Nutrition survey<\/p>\n

A recent focus of this work includes the federal government\u2019s Canadian Community Health Survey \u2014 Nutrition, a national survey of Canadians\u2019 food and beverage intakes. The most recent Canadian Community Health Survey \u2014 Nutrition survey was published by Health Canada in partnership with Statistics Canada in 2015. Health Canada uses Canadian Community Health Survey data in developing Canada\u2019s Food Guide and for other nutrition policy and planning purposes.<\/p>\n

Although consumption patterns have changed over the past decade, the 2015 database is still being used by government as well as academics for publishing research on the quality of the Canadian diet. Indeed, when Health Canada published an evidence review of Canada\u2019s Food Guide in December 2025, it cited Canadian Community Health Survey \u2014 Nutrition survey information to reaffirm the validity of the current guide.<\/p>\n

Rekunyk indicated there is strong consensus across the commodity groups, human health industry and academia on the need for an updated CCHS \u2014 Nutrition survey.<\/p>\n

Related matters saw Canada Beef, in collaboration with the CCA and Dairy Farmers of Canada, in a co-ordinated effort to produce a joint letter with a broad coalition of stakeholders, including more than 30 signatories representing 13 faculties across 11 research-intensive universities, soon to be submitted to the government.<\/p>\n

Canada Beef is also working with the University of Toronto to publish research on protein intakes among Canadians, demonstrating that Canadians are not overconsuming protein. This research will be highlighted in a Canada Beef-sponsored session at the Canadian Nutrition Society Conference in May 2026.<\/p>\n

Activity report coming this fall<\/p>\n

Finally, the new Canada Beef Semi-Annual 2025-26 video provides an activity update of key projects launched during the first half of the prior fiscal year. This video is the latest effort by Canada Beef to provide stakeholders with timely reporting about the activities deployed to increase demand for Canadian beef while ensuring the maximum value for producer dollars. Watch for the full annual report this fall.<\/p>\n

\u2014 with files from the CCA<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"In April, Canada Beef embarked on its first trip to China since the restoration of market access, due…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":50054,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[22461,17,15422,22462,337,22463],"class_list":["post-50053","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-canada","tag-beef-exports","tag-canada","tag-canada-beef","tag-cca","tag-china","tag-diversification"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/canada\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/50053","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/canada\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/canada\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/canada\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/canada\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=50053"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/canada\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/50053\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/canada\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/50054"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/canada\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=50053"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/canada\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=50053"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/canada\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=50053"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}