Canada ready to supply pork to Philippines

Canada, which has an annual pork production of 30 million hogs and exports one million tonnes of pork products a year, is ready to help supply the Philippine market which is facing a shortage.

According to Canadian Minister of International Trade and Minister for the Asia-Pacific Gateway Stockwell Day, Canada's biggest export is agri-food and the Philippines is Canada's ninth biggest destination for its agri-products. Canadian exports to the Philippines last year amounted to CA$559.5 million.

Day assured that as part of Canada's investment thrust, it is implementing a Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) for all Canadian firms.

According to him, Canada looks at the phyto-sanitary practices of its neighbours to learn and align their own standards.

He also revealed that Canada is looking at strengthening linkages through more bilateral regional trade arrangements similar to the North American Free Trade Arrangement (NAFTA) even as it also adheres to the global World Trade Organization (WTO) system.