Agriculture committee  Well, really, the mechanism to forward price is in the private sector. The ability for producers to really access that fully is.... They need some help. Bankers, particularly in our sector, where we have had difficult years, their willingness to secure margin accounts for a product that's not yet sold is....

Agriculture committee  In terms of risk management?

Agriculture committee  Well, we've been moving forward in how we can manage risk better by using some of the commercial tools. Of course, hedging forward-selling product is quite a challenge for smaller producers in particular, so we're working on a program where.... The real issue around small producers hedging is margin calls and what you do when the market turns against you.

Agriculture committee  Yes, South Korea is a very premium market for us. They would rank about third or fourth in terms of value of exports last year, but in terms of the value per kilogram, they would rank only behind Japan, which is sort of the premier-premier.... We are disappointed that we have not been able to negotiate the beneficial agreement that the Americans have.

Agriculture committee  We have enjoyed a forum where the major players that consist of our value chain round table have really been able to be in one place at one time, and that's very important. As producers, we often suspect that everybody else in the value chain is very profitable except us, but by getting to know our partners in the value chain better and understanding their concerns, it has been very educational for my end of the business, which is the production end.

Agriculture committee  Certainly. Thank you, Mr. Chair. I'm pleased to have this opportunity to meet with this committee today. The pork value chain round table is dealing with a number of things. The Canadian pork industry is world-renowned for production standards and high-quality products. In 2011, we had sales of just over $3.2 billion and exported to more than 100 countries.