First time to Indonesia Trip is also intended to deal with recurring trade irritants with the growing region
Agricultural products and issues are on the agenda for premier Brad Wall and 25 Saskatchewan-based companies on a trade trip to Asia.
Wall said Sept. 6 he intended to help open doors for the producers and sellers of canola, wheat and other products, but he also planned to address recurring trade irritants.
The Sept. 8-17 trip includes stops in China, Hong Kong, Singapore and Indonesia.
China’s rapid growth means it requires more of what Saskatchewan has — potash and food. The country is a significant buyer of the province’s canola oil.
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Wall said trade between the two jurisdictions increased 100 percent last year, and most of that was driven by agriculture.
“Yes, it’s potash and oil, but increasingly it’s agricultural (products),” he said.
Saskatchewan exports to China were worth $1.7 billion in 2011. About 83 percent of that came from trade in potash, canola seed, canola oil and peas.
Wall said the booming business didn’t mean he would shy away from raising issues, such as China banning Canadian canola over blackleg concerns.
“We raise those issues and I think it helps,” he said of government involvement.
“We’re increasingly aware that (irritants like that) are a process and not an event and we’re going to keep on top of it.”
The trip to Indonesia will mark the first time a Saskatchewan premier has visited the country. While there he will meet with the ministries of trade and agriculture.
Indonesia is now the province’s fifth largest export market. In 2011, exports of potash, wheat and semi-chemical wood pulp were worth $817 million.
About half of Canadian exports to Indonesia were from Saskatchewan, and Wall said he would like to see that increase.
“It isn’t just fertilizer,” he said. “There’s been a huge increase in the tonnage of wheat.”
The loss of the CWB export monopoly means there is a greater role for others to play in developing that market, he said. Good government-to-government relationships help.
In Singapore, Wall will meet with representatives from Canpotex and its largest international customer, Wilmar International, as well as other agricultural companies.
The organizations on the trade mission include Alliance Grain Traders, Saskatchewan Pulse Growers, Prairie West Terminal and Saskatchewan Trade and Export Partnership.
