Smaller automated regional processing plants are needed.Ottawa—Beef processing in Canada needs a massive overhaul if the sector is to remain internationally competitive, says Jean-Sebastien Gascon, Director General of Boeuf Quebec (BQ), a small but ambitious group of beef producers.Gascon compares the initiative to the Cirque du Soleil. It'll have a marketing strategy that will surprise consumers with what it has to offer, he told the Commons agriculture committee.BQ plans to launch a pilot project in 2021 to achieve 6 per cent annual profitability. “More value must be produced at lower cost, which means innovating, selling better and producing better. It will require a radical technological shift in production and processing to become a technological leader able to compete with the giants that dominate beef processing. “In five years, if we haven't innovated, we'll be dead.”Canadian beef producers face several disadvantages competing with other countries and they need government assistance to reorganize the sector, he said.“It's a commercially unstable industry, highly complex and high-risk. This is why the processing sector is concentrated in the hands of a few giants.”Producers and processors face highly volatile prices “and few businesses survive. Several countries have abundant and inexpensive labour, including the US, Mexico and Brazil. Regulations lack reciprocity,” he said.Canada accepts beef imports from counties with lower production standards than Canada's in terms of animal health and welfare and the environment, Gascon said. Other countries provide far more financial support.“Boeuf Quebec is an innovative initiative for the recovery of the industry. Sales are doubling every four to six months, and we hope that this pace will be maintained for the next two years, even though it is still a small industry.”BQ was organized by a group of farming families, now numbering around 70, to better respond to consumer demands, he said. It aims for better vertical coordination from farm to table to achieve productivity and marketing agility gains and better value and profitability for all businesses, especially processors, slaughterhouses and producers.Governments can help with better risk management, regulations, workforce training and research, investment and innovation. “Government support is an essential lever to offset global disparities. It's clear that we aren't on a level playing field with the rest of the world.”The pandemic revealed the lack of capacity in Canadian meat processing, he said. There must be a shift in relation to the consumer, who “is asking more questions and is willing to ask even more questions.”“The businesses that are succeeding right now are the ones bringing robotics into their factories,” he said.Alex Binkley is a freelance journalist and writes for domestic and international publications about agriculture, food and transportation issues. He's also the author of two science fiction novels with more in the works.