Canadian International Trade Minister Ed Fast has announced an agreement that officially solidifies a Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) deal that includes Canada. The Barley Council of Canada (BCC) and its members are extremely pleased with the negotiation results for barley.
"We'd like to thank Minister Fast, Minister Ritz and their entire negotiation team and support staff for their tireless work on concluding a TPP deal that enables Canadian exporters the ability to continue to grow and ensure Canada's future agri-food economic prosperity and security," says BCC chair Brian Otto.
The future for Canada's barley industry looks a lot brighter now that it will have predictable, increased, and secured access into major TPP markets, such as Japan.
"The TPP is good news for Canada's barley industry," says Otto. "It grants us additional market access opportunities, reduces and illuminates tariffs, and secures specific volume provisions in markets that would otherwise have cost us more concessions and less benefits if we had to negotiate our way back into the TPP at a later date."
As one of the 12 member countries of the TPP, it will enable Canada and its co-members the opportunity to set the conditions of entry for other prospective countries who want to participate in this historic trade deal.
"Our entire barley value chain is eager to capture the opportunities that will now open up for Canadian barley," says Otto.
More export opportunities for Canadian beef and pork will also significantly increase domestic demand for feed barley.
"The Canadian barley industry will reap the rewards of increased beef and pork sales, as over 65 per cent of harvested barley goes towards feed production for livestock," says Otto.
The TPP agreement is a complex regional trade agreement. Canada negotiated with 11 other countries that collectively represent 40 per cent of global GDP, or around $28 trillion, as well as 800 million people.
Source : BarleyCanada