Thank you very much for your testimony.
At present, all exporters are dealing with the repercussions of the rapid rise in the value of the dollar. We hear a great deal about the crisis in the manufacturing industry. In my speeches, and in my comments, I always point out that pork and beef producers, who are exporters as well, are affected by the circumstances. I don't wish to be a pessimist, but if the government's response remains the same for beef and pork producers as it has been for the manufacturing industry, there will not be many solutions put forward to at least attenuate the crisis.
Mr. Dessureault, Mr. Vincent, you were recently interviewed for an article on the industry in crisis, which appeared in the Journal de Montréal. I found it very interesting. I asked myself a lot of questions about a chart in the article. According to the Canadian Council of Grocery Distributors, marketers and grocers no longer buy pork and beef originating in the U.S. However, a chart in the article showed that, in Canada, imports of pork meat and products originating in the U.S. increased from 88.4 thousand tonnes in 2001 to 137.8 tonnes in 2006. There has obviously been a huge increase. In 2001, 2002 and 2003, the increase was regular. At the time, the value of the Canadian dollar was not as high.
How do you explain this?