Today trade ministers from 12 Pacific countries signed the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) agreement in Auckland, New Zealand. The TPP will allow canola exports to grow substantially by eliminating tariffs and removing non-tariff barriers such as those related to biotechnology.
“Since more than 90% of our canola is exported as seed, oil, or meal, exports are critical to our industry” says Ward Toma, General Manager of the Alberta Canola Producers Commission. “This agreement will eliminate tariffs on canola oil and meal in key export markets such as Japan and Vietnam, enabling Canada to increase our export markets by more than $780 million once the TPP is fully implemented.”
In 2014, more than $1.2 billion in canola seed was exported to Japan. As the tariffs are eliminated, the canola industry estimates that exports will shift increasingly to value added oil and meal, while maintaining the overall volume of canola that is exported. This signing brings Canadian canola one step closer to being on a level playing field with other oilseeds, and other oilseed producers like Australia in the valuable Asia-Pacific region when it is fully implemented. Australia currently has preferential access to ship canola oil to Japan through their bi-lateral free trade agreement.
“We have been a stable supplier of canola seed to Japan for over 40 years, but we are acutely aware that other canola suppliers now have better access to Japan than Canada does,” says Patti Miller, president of the Canola Council of Canada (CCC). “We are very pleased the Canadian government signed the agreement and look forward to a full discussion about the importance of Canada implementing the agreement in Parliament.”
Now that the agreement has been signed, it can come into effect in two years once six countries representing 85% of the economy for the TPP region have ratified the agreement through their national processes.
Source : AlbertaCanola