Thank you.
My comments will be much shorter than 10 minutes.
We are excited about the new prospects and opportunities that a Canada-Japan partnership represents for Canadian farmers. A new trade deal that decreases current Japanese tariffs will unlock new markets for Canadian farmers and give us a lot of room for new growth. A recent government report, sanctioned by both Canada and Japan, shows there is potential for Canada to increase its GDP from between $3.8 billion to $9 billion.
In 2010 Canada exported $3.3 billion in agrifood products to Japan. That equates to 10% of Canada's total agrifood exports, making Japan a high-priority market for Canada's agriculture sectors. Within the grain sector more specifically—we are the Grain Growers of Canada—Japan is Canada's second-largest export market and a major customer for the crops we grow, like canola, wheat, durum, and malt barley.
Japan is Canada's third-largest market for wheat, with exports in 2011 totalling $471 million. It's our sixth-largest market for durum. Durum is also a wheat, but it's used for pasta, noodles, and couscous.
Canola has more than a 40% market share of Japan's total edible oil consumption, and Japan imports over two million tonnes of seed worth over $1.4 billion, consistently one of our best markets.
Canada is Japan's largest malt supplier, with a 28% share of malt imports. When I say “malt”, that's malting barley, which is used to make beer.
Beyond just these numbers, even more importantly the Japanese market is what we call a premium market. Japan pays premium prices for premium quality, and this means more dollars in farmers' pockets.
An economic partnership agreement will open the doors to discuss issues like tariff escalation, where our value-added exports are often facing higher tariffs than the raw products. Whether it is pulse flour or canola oil, for example, we are looking for the opportunities that a level playing field can provide.
Canadian companies will also be able to use a trade deal with Japan as a foothold to the larger Asia-Pacific region. We also took the opportunity recently to go to Japan with the agriculture minister, the Canadian Wheat Board, and the Canadian Grain Commission to meet with the Japanese flour millers association and assure them that quality Canadian wheat will continue to be produced and marketed.
I would be happy to discuss that trip more in the open forum.
Thank you for the opportunity to be here today. I look forward to the questions.