Ontario Pork and the Canadian Pork Council release their positions on EU trading opportunities
By Jennifer Jackson
National and provincial pork industry leaders express confidence in Canada’s recent trading agreement with the European Union.
The Canadian Pork Council (CPC) welcomes the recent signing of the Canada-European Union Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement (CETA), according to a release.
The agreement will allow tariff-free trading of processed pork products between Canada and the EU. Exporters will follow an 80,000 tonne pork quota, implemented over the next five years.
Market opportunities are important to the success of Canada’s pork industry, according to Rick Bergmann, CPC chair.
CPC chair, Rick Bergmann
“Canada is a globally competitive producer and exporter of pork and pork products. We have worked hard to develop a global reputation as a reliable supplier of safe, wholesome, high-quality pork,” Bergmann said in a release on Oct. 30. “The key to sustaining our success, however, is the ability to access a wide variety of markets.
“The Canadian and EU markets for pork complement each other and while this relationship holds great promise, we look forward to the government officials resolving the outstanding technical barriers that limit our ability to capitalize on what was achieved,” added Bergmann.
Ontario Pork Producers’ Marketing Board shares similar optimism on the trade deal.
“Ontario Pork is pleased by the signing of the Canada-European Union Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement and sees this as a first step in a new global partnership,” says Amy Cronin, chair of Ontario Pork. “We encourage our government to continue to address remaining technical barriers, which would allow Ontario pork farmers greater access to EU member countries.”
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau signed the Canada-EU trade deal on Oct. 30.