Canada Encouraged To Make The Most Of Upcoming WTO Meetings In Hong Kong

“It seems the objectives are lower than what they had been before and that concerns us,” adds Canadian Pork Council (CPC) President Clare Schlegel. “It’s important that increased market access, tariff reduction happen on behalf of the pork industry in Canada and we’re concerned when we see the talks moving slower rather than quicker.” He points out, “Canada is an exporting nation, particularly for pork. It's one of the world's leading pork suppliers and it certainly affects our prosperity as an industry.” Canadian Pork and Beef Producers Increasingly Dependant on Trade The Canadian industry now exports pork to 100 countries around the world and the value of those exports for 2005 is projected to be nearly $3 billion, compared to less than $1 billion just 10 years ago. CPC Executive Director Martin Rice explains, “The Canadian pork industry is increasingly dependent on export markets other than the U.S. and Mexico. We have seen the NAFTA [North American Free Trade Agreement] agreement pretty much play out in terms of its providing an incentive for increased Canadian pork exports. We are seeing our dependence on non-NAFTA markets growing from well under a third just ten years ago to being well over half now. It is the countries other than the NAFTA countries which are very much the focus for increased Canadian pork exports.” http://www.farmscape.com/f2ShowScript.aspx?i=21868&q=Canada+Encouraged+to+Make+the+Most+of+Upcoming+WTO+Meetings+in+Hong+Kong

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