Canada
November 8, 2012
Today’s Market Access Report released by Agriculture Minister Gerry Ritz demonstrates important progress to expand market access for Canadian canola. The Canola Council of Canada (CCC) welcomed the report as a sign of the government’s continued commitment to provide the canola industry more opportunity to earn returns from the international marketplace.
“Our industry exports 85 percent of what we produce, so market access is vital,” says CCC president Patti Miller. “The government’s continued commitment to maintaining and improving market access helps all segments of the value chain - seed companies, growers, crushers and exporters.”
The CCC works closely with the federal government to address immediate and long-term barriers hampering access to export markets for Canadian canola. We focus on barriers related to tariffs, sanitary and phytosanitary standards, innovation and biotechnology, as well as sustainability requirements. Market access improvements in China, South Korea, the United States and the European Union highlighted in today’s report reflect the success of coordinated industry/government efforts.
“Working together with the Market Access Secretariat at Agriculture and Agri-food Canada, we’ve maintained and grown export markets worth more than $1.6 billion per year,” says Miller. “It’s been extremely valuable, but our work is not yet done.”
The government’s ambitious free trade agenda includes ongoing negotiations with the European Union, Korea, Japan and the Trans Pacific Partnership. Concluding these agreements offers significant potential to further improve market access for canola, says Miller.
“Concluding ambitious free trade agreements with the European Union and Korea is important to maintaining and growing our market access,” says Jim Everson, CCC vice-president Corporate Affairs .
The CCC is a full value chain organization representing the entire canola industry, including growers, seed developers, crushers and exporters. Canola is Canada’s most valuable crop, generating over $15.4 billion in economic activity each year and is responsible for 228,000 jobs. In 2011, more than $8.4 billion in canola seed, oil, and meal were exported to 55 countries.
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