June 11, 2009

The Canadian Pork Council (CPC) welcomes the government's efforts to expand international agriculture markets during this time of economic uncertainty, and strongly urges the government to engage in negotiations of a trade and economic agreement with the EU.

CPC strongly believes that the Canadian government must seek out new trade opportunities abroad during this time of economic uncertainty.

Bilateral trade agreements such as the ones being pursued with Colombia and Peru will help diversify the export market abilities and reduce dependence on the US for exports.

Colombia for example, accounts for US$3 million of sales or more than 3,570 tonnes of pork in 2008, and with the creation of a 5,000 tonne tariff-rate quota and the elimination of the in-quota tariff over five years, there is important potential for growth in Canadian pork exports to Colombia.

With a population of about 500 million, the majority of which views pork as their favoured meat, the Canadian industry is making important investments to respond to increasing demand in the EU countries for Canadian pork.