Good afternoon. It's a pleasure to be here with you today to introduce Soy Canada and the soy industry's perspective on the Trans-Pacific Partnership.
It's a unique pleasure to have such a good group from Havergal College here too. We don't get an opportunity to talk to an audience like this very often, so that's a good thing for us.
I thought I'd just talk about Soy Canada and what it represents for a moment. Soy Canada is the national association representing the full soybean value chain. Our members include processor associations representing soybean farmers from across Canada, seed development companies, soybean exporters and processors.
Soy Canada facilitates industry co-operation and represents the industry on domestic and international issues affecting growth and development of the soybean sector.
The soybean sector is growing significantly in Canada, with 2015 now marking the eighth consecutive year of soybean production and growth. Between 2005 and 2015, seeded acreage of soybeans increased by 87%, to 5.1 million acres. Production levels have nearly doubled to 6.2 million metric tonnes in 2016. Farm cash receipts are $2.3 billion, and finally, since 2005, soybean exports have increased by roughly 250%, to 4.4 million metric tonnes in 2015. Canada exports about 65% of its domestic soybean production, as Ms. Citeau pointed out.
We are the world's fifth largest exporter of soybeans and the seventh largest producer.
Domestic use, processing, and export of Canadian soybeans contribute over $5.6 billion to Canada's annual GDP and are linked to 54,000 direct and indirect full-time equivalent jobs. We are a growing segment of the agriculture industry with more expansion forecast in the coming years and more reliance on export markets. This is why international trade is critical to our industry.
The TPP represents a huge opportunity for Canada. We know that TPP countries represent nearly 800-million potential customers, account for 40% of the world's GDP, and for 65% of Canada's agriculture and food trade.
What does it mean for soybeans? The total value of soybean exports to TPP countries reached very close to $1 billion in 2015. The Asia-Pacific region encompasses a large segment of key soybean export markets, with roughly 40% of our total Canadian soybean exports going to TPP countries.
Soybean trade with this region of the world is significant. The TPP provides a platform for our industry to access these growing markets and build on existing trade relationships with major soybean importers. All members of the soybean value chain—producers, processors, exporters, and related affiliations—directly or indirectly stand to benefit from TPP. The agreement provides a more secure and equal trade environment free from tariffs and administrative quotas on all soybeans and soybean products.
Canada's participation agreement ensures that other oilseed exporting nations do not have preferential access to TPP markets. Our industry will be better positioned to compete against other major soybean-producing nations, a major advantage for Canada when combined with the increasing demand throughout the Pacific Rim for high-quality soybeans.
The TPP also includes important provisions relating to biotechnology. As you know, innovation through the application of biotechnology to seed development has provided tremendous benefits to crop production. It is also a free contributor to trade disruption. The application of zero-tolerance regulatory frameworks and increasingly acute testing technologies in a world of increasing deployment of biotechnology is a recipe for trade challenges. Recognizing this, policy-makers are looking for ways to better coordinate regulation internationally.
The TPP establishes a working group to facilitate co-operation and information exchange on biotechnology issues among the members, including low-level presence of GM materials and regulation of new plant breeding technologies. It also establishes a process for collectively managing cases of low-level presence should they occur.
Low-level presence refers to the very low, unintentional presence of genetically modified materials found in commodity shipments internationally that have been deemed safe by a full safety assessment . It is a very topical issue in the international grain trade a a result of the growing acreage and number of agricultural products being assisted by biotechnology methods.
Canada has taken a leadership position in developing new regulatory approaches to managing LLP, and the inclusion of commitments to co-operation in TPP is really welcome. These are positive steps toward reducing disruption to trade in the grains and oilseeds industry and establishing predictable trading rules for TPP members.
The TPP is a modern and comprehensive agreement, and an important milestone in reforming international agricultural trade. Canada is a trading nation, and our grains and oilseeds sector is heavily reliant on international markets. In many commodities, while access to export markets is very important, we do not have the size and export might of competitive nations. Soybeans are an illustration of this. Despite the rapid growth of our sector, Canada represents only 2% to 3% of production internationally. Our industry competes with the U.S., which produces about 39% of the world's soybeans, and Brazil, at 37%. They are responsible for the vast majority of the world trade, which gives them considerable leverage in commercial negotiations.
In order to compete, Canada relies on predictable, rule-based trade. We need a predictable environment where all participants play by the same rules. The TPP and other trade agreements seek to establish these rules and support existing trade rules, such as the existing WTO agreements.
In conclusion, I thank the agriculture committee for this opportunity. We support the implementation of TPP, and we urge the committee to recommend its ratification at the earliest opportunity.