All meat inspection should be done to federal standards.Ottawa—Differing provincial inspection standards for beef and pork processing hamper domestic trade and represent an estimated $500 million loss of opportunity for the red meat sector, says a report from the Canadian Agri-Food Policy Institute (CAPI).The different provincial standards should be reformed to meet federal requirements as the U.S. does with regulations that incentivize access to inter-state and international markets, the report said.“There are sharp variances between provincial and federal standards and inspections. Some provinces employ standards that more closely resemble that of restaurants. A regulatory approach that ensures provincial establishments meet federal standards would be most practical for provinces that already have near-federal standards/inspection.”The current federal-provincial system hinders interprovincial trade in meat, blocks potential new sales and narrows the path for potential policy reform, the report said.Under the current situation, it can be anticipated that red meat, especially beef, will become more scarce and expensive and that this will create further pressure to distribute it within Canada with increased efficiency and fewer regulatory barriers.CAPI commissioned the examination of the meat inspection system by Director Research Al Mussell, Research Assistant Elisabeta Lika, and Research Associate Margaret Zafiriou. Their task was to demystify the regulatory framework of the red meat processing sector while providing an analysis of the domestic challenges facing the sector and providing the ideas for policy reforms.Their report noted that Canada is a major net exporter of pork and significant production occurs in both Eastern and Western Canada, the report said. Canada is a smaller net exporter of beef, with production concentrated in Western Canada.Beef exports occur mostly from Western Canada, and Eastern Canada has a beef deficit. “Thus, there is ranging interest in the regional shipment of red meats within the country.”Slaughter and meat processing regulations vary across the country. Federally licenced facilities are authorized to engage in interprovincial and international trade. Those that are licenced provincially may only sell their products within provincial borders. The vast majority of animals slaughtered for meat in Canada are processed at federally licenced facilities.As the provinces have authorities for meat inspection as a matter of jurisdiction and agricultural policy, they are able to restrict interprovincial trade from external provincially inspected plants and protect their existing plants. “The policies surrounding Canada's red meat industry are complex and in need of reforms,” the report said.Meat processing plants that wish to market outside of the province or internationally have to be licensed by the Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA) through federal meat inspection regulations and standards. “The result is often less stringent provincial regulations and smaller scale provincial plants relative to federal ones that impact the competitiveness and resilience of the sector.”The federal and provincial agriculture ministers have instructed officials to study the regulatory and non-regulatory barriers to the interprovincial trade of red meat to help identify ways to reduce the regulatory burden in the domestic red meat industry and boost Canada's future prospects for economic growth and resilience.The report concluded, “The most promising pathway to facilitate greater interprovincial trade in red meats is through conversion of provincially inspected establishments to meet federal standards.”One particularly important barrier that prevents conversion from provincial to federal standards is the cost of inspection, the report said. “The costs borne by processors for (federal) CFIA inspection fees are perceived to be excessive by processors, both in absolute terms and in comparison to provincial standards.”