November 30, 2020

Canada adds an additional US$531.87 million to support its agriculture industry

The Canadian government said it will add a further CAD 691 million (~US$531.87 million; CAD 1 = US$0.77) to support its poultry, egg, and dairy farmers, while also hastening payments promised to dairy farmers in 2019, Reuters reported.

Marie-Claude Bibeau, Canada's Agriculture Minister said it will deliver the remaining CAD 1.405 billion (~US$1.081 billion) from a total of CAD 1.75 billion (~US$1.346 billion) promised in August 2019 in the next three years, reduced from its initial eight-year schedule.

Bibeau said the dairy farmers package is an addition to the CAD 250 million (~US$192 million) Canada-European Union Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement (CETA) on-farm investment programme. The CETA, a free trade agreement between Canada and the European Union (EU), removes tariffs on 99% of all goods types traded between both parties over a period of up to seven years.

The compensation payments awarded by the Canadian government recognise that dairy and poultry farmers have lost out after Canada signed trade agreements with the EU and Pacific nations.

In 2019, Bibeau said Canada Prime Minister Justin Trudeau's government will not make any further dairy market-access concessions in other trade negotiations.

Pierre Lampron, president of the Dairy Farmers of Canada, welcomed the government's compensation plan as it will place dairy farmers in a better position to compete against imported dairy products.

- Reuters