By Bruce Cochrane
The research lead with Agri-Food Economic Systems says the pending Trans-Pacific Partnership free trade agreement offers a substantial opportunity for Canada's pork industry to expand the volume of lower priced pork cuts it markets into Japan.
In October, after years of discussion, an agreement was reached among the 12 countries negotiating the Trans-Pacific Partnership free trade agreement but the deal must still be ratified by the governments of those countries before it will come into effect.
Agri-Food Economic Systems has been evaluating the implications of the pending deal for Canada.
Dr. Al Mussell, the research lead, says for Canada's pork industry membership in the partnership will mean new opportunities in Japan.
Clip-Dr. Al Mussell-Agri-Food Economic Systems:
One of the things that's been a little bit of a trade irritant over the years has been this pretty complicated system of protection that exists for the Japanese pork market.
It's called the differential duty system or sometimes it's called the gate price system.
I think we'd hoped that it might actually be removed in TPP.
It was not, however the floor of the gate was decreased.
The reason we think that that's quite important is that it allows for increased market access for lower grades or lower priced pork cuts.
Let's say your picnics, some of your shoulder cuts and so on, that previously we had to blend together with other types of cuts to fit within this gate price actually may be able to be marketed on an unbundled basis that should increase the demand for those products.
Dr. Mussell says one fear was that if Canada was left out of the Trans-Pacific Partnership that the U.S. might obtain differential access to the Japanese market.
He says Canadian participation in the TPP will mean Canada's pork industry will maintain market access similar to that of the U.S. in Japan.
Source: Farmscpae