Canada and Ukraine have agreed to start talks aimed at creating a free trade deal, and agriculture-related trade could be a major beneficiary.
Trade minister Stockwell Day said during a Sept. 25 telephone news conference that a deal would open up opportunities for agricultural exports, including machinery.
And it would give Canadian companies better access to Ukrainian projects aimed at improving and modernizing their agricultural infrastructure.
Day said the Ukrainian government is eager to start talks and to wrap them up quickly.
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“They are very ambitious on that,” he said from India, the last stop on his trade mission. “They want to fast track the talks. We said we will go as quickly as we can in consultation with our industry.”
Day said the government’s industry collaboration already has shown itself in his conversations with Ukrainian officials.
“They understand our sensitivities on supply management,” he said. “I have told them those sectors will not be part of the negotiation.”
Canadian farm machinery exporters could be one of the winners in a free trade agreement. Last year, machinery exports from Canada to Ukraine were up more than 74 percent from 2007 and much of the increase was in farm machinery with exports topping $50 million.
In return, Ukraine shipped more than $52 million worth of fertilizer to Canada last year, more than three times the 2007 total.
Day said talks were just beginning and he was reluctant to predict what Canadian sectors would benefit the most.
“These are very early discussions and I don’t get too predictive on these things,” he told reporters.
But he said his trip last week illustrated the potential for Canadian investment in Ukrainian agricultural infrastructure.
Canadian engineering giant SNC-Lavalin Group Inc. and West Group Engineering signed contracts worth more than $640 million to design and build grain storage and milk collection systems across Ukraine.
Day said Ukraine is producing a record grain crop this year and it does not have enough storage for the harvest. “Their capacity to have the infrastructure to store the grain will be under pressure and there is a need for a lot of infrastructure investment and that is an opportunity for our companies.”
The country also plans to develop a more modern and centralized milk collection system that Canada will help finance, he said.
