Thank you very much for allowing us to address you today on this matter that is concerning our industry and the Canadian economy as a whole.
By way of background, Viterra is one of Canada's grain industry leaders. Our company has operations across the country, with over 100 locations made up of port facilities, inland country elevators, oilseed processing facilities and special crops processing facilities.
Viterra is owned 50% by Glencore Agriculture, a global market leader in originating, handling, processing and marketing agricultural commodities. The other 50% is owned by two major Canadian pension funds: Canada Pension Plan Investment Board and British Columbia Investment Management Corporation.
We have a long and very proud history of working with Canadian farmers that goes back well over 100 years. We connect their production to markets across the world. In fact, over 90% of Canada's farmers depend on world markets for their livelihoods.
Over the last several years, China has become an increasingly important market for Viterra and the thousands of farmers we serve. We export several different commodities to China annually, including a significant amount of canola. Additional commodities that go into China include malt barley, feed barley, flax, soybeans and wheat, so it is a very important market for our agricultural space.
On March 26, 2019, Viterra received notice suspending our licence to import canola into China. As China is one of our major customers, the decision is having a profound impact on our industry and will continue to have a major ramification the longer it continues.
We have been actively exploring various mitigation strategies and assessing the short- and long-term impacts this will have on the fluidity of the entire pipeline. We are working to manage disruptions with our farmer customers in terms of their deliveries into the system and sales into our facilities. As well, we are working with our railway partners to manage the disruptions.
As a company and as an industry, we've been very clear on our position. All of our exported products are rigorously tested to ensure they meet specific import specifications.
We take very seriously and have high pride in a sound, science-based approach to the testing of our products. This is what gives Canada its excellent reputation for being a safe and reliable supplier of food ingredients and makes companies such as Viterra a preferred supplier to many destinations around the world.
We appreciate the fact that the federal government has been engaged with our industry from the beginning to gather information and understand the situation. We are committed to continue working closely with you and actively participating throughout the process.
Looking ahead, we need to continue working with a sense of urgency and take concrete actions towards solving this matter. For example, we need to continue to push for a science-based resolution that supports a long-term trading relationship with China, and we need to ensure that our two governments are engaging at the highest levels and openly communicating about how to settle this very important issue.
Market access issues such as this one hurt our company, our farmers and our economy as a whole. We need to work together and act swiftly to restore access to this very important market.
Thank you again for allowing us to present today. We look forward to your questions.