May 22, 2008

Canada rejects WTO trade text
 

Canadian dairy, poultry and egg farmers are upset at WTO's trade text proposals that could threaten their supply management and the US$42 billion in economic activity generated by their sectors annually.

The proposals would harm domestic farms by allowing Canada to be flooded with imported food, said Laurent Souligny, chairperson of the Canadian Egg Marketing Agency.

"Supply management depends on three equally important pillars-import controls, producer pricing and production planning. If Mr. Falconer's proposals were accepted, the import controls pillar would be wiped out, devastating the sectors that rely on supply management," said Souligny.

The Canadian government is in support of its farmers, as its Agriculture and Agri-Food minister Gerry Ritz said on Tuesday (May 20, 2008) that Canada would reject proposals that do not address the nation's needs for supply management.

The needs include no reductions in Over Quota Tariffs on dairy, poultry and egg imports and no increase in the minimum market access for those products, said Mark Davies, chairperson of the Canadian Turkey Marketing Agency.

The WTO text would reduce countries' ability to establish their own food policies, according to Gyslain Loyer, chairperson of Canadian Hatching Egg Producers. Supply management provides consumers with a reliable supply of food at reasonable and stable prices while allowing farmers to receive their returns from the marketplace without relying on subsidies or taxpayer dollars.

"Trade liberalisation is not the solution to the food crisis - Canadian consumers have been spared from substantial increases in food prices observed in other countries in the past year," Loyer said.