OTTAWA – A high-profile Canadian business and political delegation goes to Asia this week with some billion-dollar dreams.
Governor general Ray Hnatyshyn leads an April 18 – May 4 mission through Japan, Korea, China and Hong Kong, carrying agriculture minister Ralph Goodale and a bevy of food sector representatives with him.
Last week, senior government officials told a background briefing that trade, investment and business are the key goals of the trip. Raising Canada’s political profile and discussing such contentious issues as human rights in China are further down the agenda.
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The region already is a $1 billion market for Canadian food and agriculture exports, said an official. But the region last year imported $20 billion worth of goods and services.
“We would like to double our market share in this area,” she said.
To help the process along, Goodale will meet with agriculture ministers and agricultural representatives in the four countries.
Canada bids for project
An official said the minister will be urging the Chinese to consider a long-term wheat agreement and will be promoting a Canadian bid to get a piece of a $1.2 billion World Bank-funded project to upgrade the Chinese grain handling system.
In Korea, Canadians will be asking that rules be changed to allow the Canadian Wheat Board to sell on credit terms similar to those offered by the United States. Existing Korean rules offer only the Americans the opportunity to sell into the country on credit terms of 90 days or more.
“We’re asking for parity with the United States on credit grain sales,” said an official.
Meanwhile, private sector officials representing export sectors as diverse as grain, pork, semen, spirits, livestock genetics, potash and tobacco will be doing their own lobbying for business.
Throughout the trip, political issues are likely to surface occasionally but the mix with the commercial goals of the mission will not always be easy.
Government officials said human rights abuses will be raised in discussions Hnatyshyn has with Chinese officials.
Protect trade relations
But the government has made it clear it will not jeopardize trade relations with China because of political disputes.
“Human rights are an important priority for us but we do not view all our external relations through the prism of human rights,” said a senior government spokesperson. “There are other priorities as well.”
(Western Producer farm management editor Colleen Munro is accompanying the trade mission and will be filing reports in future issues.)
