On Oct. 21 Golden Ontario Products celebrated receiving an export licence that will allow the company to export Canadian beef to China.
Receiving the licence was the culmination of five years of work by officials with the company, located just outside of Mount Forest.
Golden Ontario Products president and majority owner Nancy Kingsley-Hu was joined by general manager Patrizio (Pat) Donato, office manager Lorri Dickert and several dignitaries in making the announcement.
Kinglsey-Hu said obtaining the licence means the company can now take advantage of a largely untapped market.
“You can’t just export to China, you need permission, so this has been a collaboration between the two countries,” Kinglsey-Hu told those gathered on a bright, sunny day.
The company president was described as being “a pinnacle of patience and persistence (because) that’s what it takes to work with China.”
Kingsley-Hu, her husband and children lived in Shanghai for several years. She imported honey and beer to China.
She said some of her backers wanted her to look at exporting beef to China and that’s when the five-year odyssey to obtain the licence began.
When she began inquiries, the Kincardine Economic Development Board told her the 20,000 square foot Frey’s abattoir near Mount Forest was on the market.
Golden Ontario Products purchased the building in December 2013.
“The first years were rough,” Kingsley-Hu said. “The regulatory hurdles were daunting. Importing honey and beer was easy compared to this albatross.”
Kingsley-Hu said her goal in “buying this plant was to give something back.
“I was from Goderich and used to be in the financial industry. I knew things about trade deficits. So I wanted to be able to send something to China that they would want instead of always having things coming here.”
Golden Products Ontario presently employs 30 people but in the near future that number will jump to 60 – and eventually to 100 to 150 people.
There are also plans to double the size of the facility.
“This will permanently sustain the business and mean an expansion of the workforce,” said Donato. “We will be processing 80 beef a week to start.”
“The ultimate goal is to process 80 beef a day,” Kinglsey-Hu said.
“There are 1.3 billion people in [China].”
Donato, described as one of the key players on the journey, owns Donato International. He considers himself to be a farmer first and said it is high time Ontario farmers stand up for themselves.
“Some of the best farmers on the planet are in Ontario and it’s time we stand up and take our accolades,” he said.
He said he couldn’t have wished for a better partner than Kingsley-Hu.
“To me, to represent Canada on the international level is humbling,” he said.
Entire animals will be processed and sent to China, frozen, to be used primarily in the hospitality industry.
Rainer Knickmann of Mount Forest, who works for C&D (Canada) Import and Export Inc., one of China’s largest buyers, said Chinese regulations are “extremely strict” and he is thrilled with the News from Golden Ontario Products.
“It’s a huge challenge to sell to China, (so) this is a really big deal,” he said, noting that in all of Canada only seven companies have the licence just obtained by Golden Products Ontario.
“This company is going to buy cattle locally as farmers come to understand it’s here. This is going to bring foreign money to our farmers,” Knickmann said.
Both Perth-Wellington MP John Nater and Bruce-Grey-Owen Sound MPP Bill Walker were in attendance and offered their congratulations.
Breaking into “literally the largest market in the world” is good News for the company itself as well as the community, including the 490 beef farmers in Perth- Wellington, Nater said.
“This is a great opportunity for added employment, and also rural economic development,” he added.
“It is so important for these communities to have the opportunity to expand into foreign markets and do a great job expanding our economy locally.”
Walker said the announcement “gives confidence to our area.”
Wellington North councillor Steve McCabe said, “The biggest winner here, aside from China, is our local beef farmers.”
Southgate Township CAO Dave Millner said his township is “excited and proud” to have Golden Ontario Products located in their community.
The plant is located on the Southgate side of the Wellington North/Southgate border.
Also taking part in the ribbon cutting ceremony were John Schut, a business development consultant with the Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs; Southgate Mayor Anna Marie Fosbrooke; Sara Kutulakos, executive director and COO of the Canada China Business Council; and Li Yanhua, consul (commercial) with the Consulate General of the People’s Republic of China in Toronto.
A luncheon featuring locally-raised beef was held at the Mount Forest Sports Complex for dignitaries and invited guests following the ribbon cutting.
