Mr. Speaker, as we have heard, our Conservative government is undertaking the most ambitious trade agenda in Canadian history.
To date, the government has signed 38 trade agreements, and whether they are with countries large or small, each one is important. I want to underscore that because trade is both an opportunity and a necessity in Canada right now. Canada cannot consume all the products that we can produce, and there are other countries that need the products we produce.
In fact, 2013 was the most successful year for Canadian trade in history. We reached the historic Canada-EU comprehensive economic and trade agreement. We brought into force or signed free trade agreements with three priority countries. We concluded or brought into force a record ten foreign investment promotion and protection agreements.
The Minister of International Trade also unveiled Canada's new global market action plan, or GMAP. The GMAP is a comprehensive pro-trade and pro-investment plan that reflects a changing global landscape. It is focusing on core Canadian strengths.
It aligns Canada's trade, development, and foreign policy tools to advance our commercial interests around the world. It sets concrete targets to grow the presence of Canada's small and medium enterprises in emerging markets. This is where a lot of the job creation has taken place in Canada and where it will take place in the future.
The year 2014 is shaping up as another real banner year, with the Canada-Korea free trade agreement and the launch of negotiations on an expanded Canada-Israel FTA. The Prime Minister and the Minister of International Trade have secured Canada's status as a global champion of trade.
The Canada-Honduras free trade agreement is a high-quality, comprehensive agreement. It provides enhanced market access opportunities for producers, manufacturers, and exporters from every province and territory by eliminating tariffs. We have heard several of the members of Parliament from those provinces talking about that today.
This is very good news for my particular province of Alberta. For Alberta, a free trade agreement with Honduras will benefit exporters through the elimination of tariffs on a number of key provincial exports. Alberta's merchandise exports to Honduras, while they were a modest $629,000, showed an increase of nearly 200% from 2012. They are set to grow even further with the implementation of the Honduras free trade agreement.
Each of these agreements, as I have said, is important to growing our customer base and spreading our global reach. Each new opportunity means more jobs for Canadians.
Agriculture and agri-food products from Alberta, a key sector, is going to see a reduction in Honduran tariffs with this agreement. With more than 51-million acres of land used for crop and livestock production, Alberta produces an abundant supply of world-class agricultural commodities. In fact, the agriculture and agri-food sector contributed 2% to Alberta's GDP in 2012 and employed nearly 76,000 Albertans.
With this agreement in force, those agriculture and agri-food products can be competitive in the Honduran market, which is estimated by the Central American Economic Integration Secretariat to be $1.3 billion annually.
However, this is really a story about beef. One exciting and growing agri-food export area to Honduras is Alberta beef. On November 5 of last year, the Minister of Agriculture and Agri-Food announced full market access in Honduras for Canada's world-class beef and pork exports.
Upon entry into force, the Canada-Honduras free trade agreement will immediately provide duty-free access for high-quality cuts of Canadian beef, under a combined quota of 500 tons. Each year, that volume will grow.
After 15 years, Canada will have duty-free and quota-free access to the Honduran market for all types of beef. Honduran duties on beef offal currently sit at between 10% and 15%. These will be eliminated immediately upon implementation of this agreement.
I have a personal connection to this story because ranching runs in my family. My uncles have been ranchers in Alberta. My cousins are ranchers. In fact one of my uncles, Rodney James, brought Charolais Cattle to Canada.
We want to see the Alberta beef market expanded, with markets like Honduras and other markets around the world. Beef production is Alberta's largest agricultural sector, and it adds more than $12.7 million to the economy.
Alberta is also the largest cattle-producing province in Canada, with 44% of the total, or nearly 4.87 million head in 2012. Nearly 7% of that production is being exported to countries outside of Canada and the United States. This free trade agreement with Honduras would enhance that. The Honduran market is a dynamic and growing one. It is growing between 3% and 4% annually, which is a nice clip. With full market access for beef in the Honduras free trade agreement, the time now is ripe to expand our beef production.
More and more Hondurans are moving up into the growing middle class every day. Studies show that these kinds of customers have a growing appetite for high-quality agriculture and agri-food products like Canadian beef. With tariffs on Canadian beef being eliminated, we could help satisfy the demand there and see more Hondurans using more Canadian beef in their dishes.
It should also be noted that Canada's development program is also promoting sustainable economic growth and development in Honduras through investments in rural development. We are working to reduce social exclusion and inequality, with ongoing investments in other social programs. This approach is creating opportunities for Hondurans to improve their household purchasing power, which in turn will allow them to better afford quality agriculture and agri-food products.
The U.S. already has a free trade agreement with Honduras. In fact, the Americans are out there right now talking to supermarkets and restaurants across Honduras about using more U.S. beef. There is some urgency for us to get into that market, because right now our Canadian farmers and agri-food producers are at a disadvantage there. While the quality of our product is higher, and Canadian beef is very well perceived in Honduras, right now our producers have been uncompetitive because of the 15% duty currently in place. Key Honduran meat importers are looking forward to the ratification of this agreement. It would finally allow our Canadian product to compete in this marketplace. The agreement would level the playing field and make the Honduras market accessible.
I have spent a lot of time talking about beef, but many Alberta exports to Honduras are set to grow with the implementation of the free trade agreement. Beyond that, many Canadian exports to Honduras are set to grow, as are many exports from Honduras to Canada.
Throughout the negotiation of this agreement, our Conservative government consulted with a broad range of stakeholders, and the message was clear: Canadian companies look forward to the implementation of this agreement and the benefits it would create. Canadians value these kinds of real and tangible benefits. That is why Canadian companies are supporting our government's initiative to forge these new trade opportunities around the world.
We are a leader in trade. The U.S. and the E.U. have already recognized that with their FTAs. The Honduras free trade agreement recognizes that.
Our businesses deserve the right to compete on a level playing field. They seek this trade agreement, they welcome this trade agreement, and they deserve to have this trade agreement implemented.