BANFF, Alta. — Canada’s pork industry is paying careful attention to pending trade deals, but it is difficult to estimate when or if their benefits will be felt.
Martin Rice, executive director of the Canadian Pork Council, said a dispute over the Comprehensive Economic Trade Agreement (CETA) between Canada and Europe could potentially scuttle the deal.
Canada stands to gain export access for 80,000 tonnes of duty-free pork to Europe through CETA. That would make up only .5 percent of total European pork consumption but would require an additional one million pigs or more to service, said Rice.
Read Also
Stock dogs show off herding skills at Ag in Motion
Stock dogs draw a crowd at Ag in Motion. Border collies and other herding breeds are well known for the work they do on the farm.
It would be a major boost to the industry’s production.
However, issues surrounding the investor-state dispute settlement portion of CETA may delay implementation.
“EU is not going to be a big import market for us for a few years, the way things are right now,” Rice told the Banff Swine Seminar Jan. 13.
“Best case scenario for EU, for the CETA to be implemented, is probably 2017…. There’s a huge issue right now on (the) investor-state dispute, which is potentially a deal breaker, and if it can’t be resolved, CETA could find itself put on the shelf for awhile.”
The European Union has more than 500 million people who eat 40 kilograms of pork per capita, compared to 22 kg in Canada.
Rice said headway was made during CETA negotiations to develop a licensing system for available quota that was an improvement on the first come, first served system.
He said the negotiated system allows more lead time to obtain licenses and is more flexible about when those can be used.
In contrast, the Trans-Pacific Partnership, which includes Canada and 11 other countries, could be signed as early as February, said Rice.
It has would put Canada in at least as good a position as the United States in terms of pork export potential to Japan, and could mean an additional $300 million in Canadian pork exports to that country.
