The vice-president of a major Canadian pork-producing company says they are happy Canada is a part of the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) agreement.
Claude Vielfaure of HyLife, Canada's top exporter of fresh/chilled pork to Japan, says while they don't know the details of the TPP, overall it will create an even playing field with other exporting countries. The TPP will eliminate tariffs on Canadian pork in Vietnam within nine years, and eliminate or reduce gate price tariffs on Canadian pork cuts in Japan within ten years.
According to the Canadian government, between 2012 and 2014, Canada exported a yearly average of over $2.6 billion in pork and pork products to TPP countries. Vielfaure says at HyLife, they export about 80 to 85 per cent of the pork they produce, and it would be devastating to their industry if Canada wasn't included in the TPP.
"Other countries would've had better deals selling to [TPP] countries, and we probably would still have higher tariffs or different pricing, which would've made us very non-competitive against other countries in selling pork. So I think it was extremely important that we are part of this deal," he says. "We are happy we're a part of the deal, and hopefully it's going to bring some benefits to the pork industry.
Source : PortageOnline