Honourable members of the Standing Committee on Agriculture and Agri-Food, on behalf of the Canadian Produce Marketing Association, I would like to thank you for the opportunity to speak to you today on the topic of the Canada-European Union trade agreement.
The Canadian Produce Marketing Association, CPMA, is an 88-year-old not-for-profit association representing organizations involved in the sale of over $9 billion of fresh fruit and vegetables in Canada. We represent the entire produce supply chain from farm gate to dinner plate, including growers, shippers, packers, food retailers, food service operators, and all other businesses that engage in or support the produce sector. As an example, members include the PEI Potato Board, Ontario Greenhouse Vegetable Growers, Loblaw, Metro, Sysco, Gordon Food Service, and of course many others.
Within our international and Canadian membership of approximately 800 companies, CPMA represents the interests of over 456 Canadian companies, including over 150 Canadian growers, packers, and shippers. This diversified Canadian membership provides CPMA with a unique perspective of the issues and challenges facing our industry, domestically and internationally, on import and export market issues.
CPMA commends the Government of Canada in its efforts to reach a trade agreement with the EU, which will see some sectors within agriculture benefit from increased Canadian exports and reduced tariffs in the years ahead. CPMA believes in an open market philosophy that reduces irritants to trade and allows for economic prosperity and consumer choice.
On a review of CETA, we believe the agreement will provide parts of the fresh produce industry with an opportunity to expand their market penetration in the EU. The elimination of tariffs on mushrooms, raspberries, strawberries, blueberries, peas, potatoes, and cranberries is exciting for the Canadian fresh produce industry, and this could provide opportunities for Canadian farmers. Further work is now required to ensure the right variety and supply chain efficiencies are available to ship some of these highly perishable products overseas to very competitive marketplaces.
Furthermore, our members could also see benefits from increased trade from the EU into Canada. With a population as diverse as Canada's, our members work hard to provide the diverse selection of fresh fruit and vegetables Canadians look for on their grocers' shelves. This agreement could provide new opportunities in this area.
Our members are also always on the lookout for new and cheaper sources of industry technology and innovation that can be used to improve our industry here at home. We recognize that the agricultural sectors in Canada are interdependent. For example, some growers rely on cattle for their outputs to fertilize crops, while the beef industry relies on produce growers for cattle feed such as hay as part of vegetable grower crop rotation. We therefore hope to see collateral benefits from new opportunities for our partners in other agricultural sectors.
While we are generally supportive of the agreement and efforts to expand Canadian trading opportunities, as representatives of the entire produce supply chain, we note that not all of our members will be affected in the same way, with some potentially benefiting from expanded markets in the EU and new sources to bring to Canada, and others potentially hurt by new or expanded entrants into the Canadian market. For example, Canadian greenhouse vegetable growers could be severely impacted should the agreement affect anti-dumping tariffs currently applied to Dutch bell peppers, set for expiry review in 2015 by the Canadian International Trade Tribunal.
Similarly, other commodities could be impacted by removal or reduction of tariffs, but this can only be assessed as additional detail when the agreement is made available. We therefore look forward to learning more details on the agreement over the next two years, but also would welcome clarification on the tariff section in the document, “Technical Summary of Final Negotiated Outcomes”,on page 10, which states, “92.0% of agriculture tariff lines set at 0% at entry into force”. Greater detail on what agricultural tariff lines are included in the 92% will facilitate increased clarity for industry analysis of the impact.
Food safety is imperative in the produce industry in an area where it is essential that all are held to the same standards. It is also important that these measures be truly focused on providing safe food for consumers, and not be used as a cover for protectionism. It will be crucial that governments in both Canada and the EU strive for joint recognition of industry-led food safety programs, which have demonstrated their efficacy to ensure safe food in each country. We applaud efforts to establish a new sanitary and phytosanitary measures joint management committee, and to facilitate discussions and dispute settlement. Via this effort, government must ensure that policies and regulations are science-based.
Additionally, we concur with the statement in the agreement that recognizes the important role of standards, and are encouraged by the intent for Canada and EU standard-setting bodies to cooperate more closely on joint priorities.
We urge both governments to engage, where appropriate, industry specialists who can provide valuable input to these efforts. For example, for the produce sector, the International Federation for Produce Standards is a valuable resource and includes representation from multiple EU and Canadian produce organizations. Both of our organizations are part of that.
In closing, on initial review, and based on the level of detail currently available, we believe this agreement will be positive for industry overall, but there is the potential, as noted earlier, for some commodities to be negatively impacted.
Our sector is one that depends heavily on international trade and our members are continuously working to find opportunities to expand Canadian sales abroad while ensuring an affordable and diverse selection of fresh fruit and vegetables for Canadian consumers. We will continue to monitor developments as the government works toward the final agreement and look forward to investigating the potential opportunities it will bring.
Thank you.