Looks like the Canola Growers know and understand their business.
Question to the Conservative Government will they continue to wholly support supply management at the expense of Canada's export dependant Ag sector?
Good on the Canola Growers for pointing this out to the Feds as a farmer I knowthat I have been taking a hit and not even getting a thanks for from SM 5.
September 26, 2007
The Honourable Gerry Ritz
Minister of Agriculture and Agri-Food
Minister for the Canadian Wheat Board
House of Commons
Ottawa, ON K1A 0A6
Dear Minister Ritz:
The Canadian Canola Growers Association (CCGA) is disappointed and concerned with your recent letter to Ambassador Crawford Falconer dated August 31, 2007.
As the new Minister of Agriculture and Agri-Food, we want to ensure you are aware of the international trade interests of our canola growers in Canada. Canada’s canola industry adds over $11 billion in economic activity to the Canadian economy. More than 52,000 Canadian farmers grow canola – largely as full time farmers and as ‘family farm’ businesses. Our farmers depend on canola to generate between 1/3 and 1/2 of their revenues in a given year. Domestically, canola generates economic activity of $1.4 billion in Ontario and Quebec (primarily in the processing sector), and $7.5 billion in western Canada. On the export side, canola brings over $2 billion back to our Canadian economy, representing 75% of our annual production. Our canola growers, and the canola industry as a whole, rely heavily on the export market. Current trade and price distorting practices around the world are adversely impacting the prices, demand and competitiveness of our products in the global market, and this is costing canola growers and the industry hundreds of millions of dollars every year. As such, we have a major stake in the outcome of these negotiations and are looking for the Government of Canada to pursue an aggressive trade liberalization agenda in all three pillars of the negotiations.
We note with disappointment that the letter to Ambassador Falconer ignores the interests of our industry. If the selection and treatment of sensitive products are negotiated as suggested, then all WTO countries will have access to these same rules to limit or inhibit products such as canola from accessing their markets. We are already aware that some countries will declare oilseeds and / or vegetable oil as sensitive products, and therefore we need to ensure these rules follow the spirit and intent of the WTO negotiations to create new and meaningful access for all products.
The position that has been articulated is not acceptable to our growers, and we believe it is not consistent with what the Government of Canada and all WTO member countries
agreed to on July 31, 2004 in Annex A - Framework for Establishing Modalities on Agriculture. In the Sensitive Products section of the agreement it says “the principle of substantial improvement will apply to each product” and “…will be achieved through combinations of tariff quota commitments and tariff reductions applying to each product”. The text goes on to say that “some MFN-based tariff quota expansion will be required for all such products”. This agreement was signed by all WTO members, including Canada, as the basis for negotiations. The letter to the Ambassador is not consistent with Canada’s commitment under the terms of the framework agreement, nor does it align with Canada’s substantial export interests.
We respectfully ask that a letter be written to Ambassador Falconer to clarify that Canada is pursuing an aggressive trade-liberalization outcome on all three pillars of these negotiations, including market access. We also ask that future comments on the WTO by Canada, both domestically and internationally, should communicate the needs of Canada’s exporters. It is imperative that the interests of the majority of Canada’s agriculture and agri-food industry be articulated and understood at this critical time in the WTO negotiations.
We would be pleased to meet with you to further clarify our interests and objectives for the Doha Round negotiations. On behalf of our growers, we thank you for your consideration and look forward to you being a strong advocate for our export interests.
Sincerely,
Brian Tischler
President
2
Question to the Conservative Government will they continue to wholly support supply management at the expense of Canada's export dependant Ag sector?
Good on the Canola Growers for pointing this out to the Feds as a farmer I knowthat I have been taking a hit and not even getting a thanks for from SM 5.
September 26, 2007
The Honourable Gerry Ritz
Minister of Agriculture and Agri-Food
Minister for the Canadian Wheat Board
House of Commons
Ottawa, ON K1A 0A6
Dear Minister Ritz:
The Canadian Canola Growers Association (CCGA) is disappointed and concerned with your recent letter to Ambassador Crawford Falconer dated August 31, 2007.
As the new Minister of Agriculture and Agri-Food, we want to ensure you are aware of the international trade interests of our canola growers in Canada. Canada’s canola industry adds over $11 billion in economic activity to the Canadian economy. More than 52,000 Canadian farmers grow canola – largely as full time farmers and as ‘family farm’ businesses. Our farmers depend on canola to generate between 1/3 and 1/2 of their revenues in a given year. Domestically, canola generates economic activity of $1.4 billion in Ontario and Quebec (primarily in the processing sector), and $7.5 billion in western Canada. On the export side, canola brings over $2 billion back to our Canadian economy, representing 75% of our annual production. Our canola growers, and the canola industry as a whole, rely heavily on the export market. Current trade and price distorting practices around the world are adversely impacting the prices, demand and competitiveness of our products in the global market, and this is costing canola growers and the industry hundreds of millions of dollars every year. As such, we have a major stake in the outcome of these negotiations and are looking for the Government of Canada to pursue an aggressive trade liberalization agenda in all three pillars of the negotiations.
We note with disappointment that the letter to Ambassador Falconer ignores the interests of our industry. If the selection and treatment of sensitive products are negotiated as suggested, then all WTO countries will have access to these same rules to limit or inhibit products such as canola from accessing their markets. We are already aware that some countries will declare oilseeds and / or vegetable oil as sensitive products, and therefore we need to ensure these rules follow the spirit and intent of the WTO negotiations to create new and meaningful access for all products.
The position that has been articulated is not acceptable to our growers, and we believe it is not consistent with what the Government of Canada and all WTO member countries
agreed to on July 31, 2004 in Annex A - Framework for Establishing Modalities on Agriculture. In the Sensitive Products section of the agreement it says “the principle of substantial improvement will apply to each product” and “…will be achieved through combinations of tariff quota commitments and tariff reductions applying to each product”. The text goes on to say that “some MFN-based tariff quota expansion will be required for all such products”. This agreement was signed by all WTO members, including Canada, as the basis for negotiations. The letter to the Ambassador is not consistent with Canada’s commitment under the terms of the framework agreement, nor does it align with Canada’s substantial export interests.
We respectfully ask that a letter be written to Ambassador Falconer to clarify that Canada is pursuing an aggressive trade-liberalization outcome on all three pillars of these negotiations, including market access. We also ask that future comments on the WTO by Canada, both domestically and internationally, should communicate the needs of Canada’s exporters. It is imperative that the interests of the majority of Canada’s agriculture and agri-food industry be articulated and understood at this critical time in the WTO negotiations.
We would be pleased to meet with you to further clarify our interests and objectives for the Doha Round negotiations. On behalf of our growers, we thank you for your consideration and look forward to you being a strong advocate for our export interests.
Sincerely,
Brian Tischler
President
2
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