Federal agriculture minister Gerry Ritz says he planted a seed last week that he hopes will grow into a free trade deal with Morocco.
The deal could be worth hundreds of millions of dollars to Canadian farmers, he added.
“We discussed exploring opportunities for mutually beneficial free trade agreement between Canada and Morocco,” Ritz said in an April 16 telephone conference call from Morocco after meetings with trade and agriculture ministers.
Canadian farm groups and the Canadian Wheat Board applauded the announcement, and wheat board president Ian White contacted Ritz’s office to offer the board’s help in negotiations.
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The North African nation of 33 million is a major wheat board customer, buying $300 million worth of durum last year. Total Canadian sales to Morocco were $450 million, most of it agricultural.
However, despite its role as the key link between Canada and Morocco, the wheat board was not invited to take part in the trade mission. Representatives of Grain Growers of Canada, which supports Ritz’s opposition to the CWB single desk, and Pulse Canada did participate in the trip.
“Well, the wheat board is a separate entity,” Ritz said, explaining his reasons for not having the CWB along.
“They always tell me they have global outreach, they have salesmen around the world. I’m not sure why they’d wait for me to lead a trade mission. I think they should be here on a month by month basis if this is an important market.”
At the board, media relations manager Maureen Fitzhenry said the board does keep in regular contact with customers in Morocco and visited as recently as December. She said the board hopes to be involved when trade negotiations start.
There are concerns that American grain will be more competitive in the Moroccan market than Canadian durum because of a U.S. trade agreement signed with Morocco in 2004. Durum is used to make the Moroccan staple food couscous.
“Canada cannot afford to jeopardize its favourable position in one of the few significant world markets for high-quality durum,” White said in a written statement.
Last year, the wheat board sold 622,000 tonnes of durum to Morocco, 90 percent of the country’s imports.
The Canadian Federation of Agriculture, also missing from the trade mission, said a trade deal with Morocco would be helpful.
Ritz said pulse crop sales are one potential growth area.
Canadian exporters now have a small share of the market and face tariffs of 50 percent for lentils and 80 percent for peas.
He said the Moroccans are also interested in agricultural technology, genetics and investment.
“They’re very much interested as they get their agricultural sector up to speed in the new century that they’re looking for innovative ideas through science and technology,” he said.
“And of course, that’s what we are all about in Canada.”
