Thank you very much, Mr. Chairman and committee members.
My name is Patti Miller. I am president of the Canola Council. I really appreciate the opportunity to be here today and update the committee on our industry and our priorities.
In just a few decades, canola has really become a major driver in the Canadian economy. It's now Canada's most valuable crop. It generates one-quarter of all farm cash receipts, about $7.3 billion in 2011. Beyond the farm gate, it is an economic powerhouse. It contributes $15.4 billion to the Canadian economy and generates more than 228,000 jobs and $8.2 billion in wages. Industry investment has resulted in 13 crushing and refining plants in Canada, with new plants and expansions under way, adding value-added processing in Canada.
The Canola Council is the voice of the industry. Our organization is unique because we represent the entire value chain, from the farmers who grow the crop to the companies that process and export to customers around the world. Teamwork really is our strength. We bring together 43,000 canola growers, crop input suppliers, and grain-handling companies, exporters and processors, all pulling together to help the industry grow.
Our core funding comes from stakeholders in the industry. It's a voluntary levy, paid by farmers, crushers, exporters, and the life science companies.
In 2006, our industry set a goal to increase annual production from 9 million tonnes to 15 million tonnes, which would contribute additional billions of dollars to Canada's economy, and to do that by 2015. This year, farmers seeded record acreage, and we're getting very close to that goal, except for a few rough spots this summer. Having said that, canola is a big winner in the marketplace. An average farmer saw a 30% increase in revenues from canola, and domestic crush went up 30%.
In terms of our partnership with the federal government, we work very closely with Agriculture Canada, with the Department of Foreign Affairs, with the Canadian Food Inspection Agency, and with the Growing Forward program run through Agriculture Canada, which is our main source of federal investment. Our focus areas with the government have been on research, market access, and market development.
In Growing Forward 2, the next round of this agreement, we really hope to see the federal commitment in these areas continue.
Research, market development, and market access all working together can transform market potential into jobs and wealth for Canadians. Clearly we need the research to be able to continue to grow and improve the productivity of the crop and to uncover the numerous health benefits of our product. However, over 85% of our Canadian canola is exported, so if doors to global markets are closed, a resilient crop and superior products do us little good. We need market development and market access programs to ensure that this crop remains profitable for the industry.
Investment in market development has yielded great returns for us. Investment in the U.S. canola oil promotion program has improved awareness in that key market for us and increased market share of our products. This program has also helped us expand our reach in existing key markets in Japan, Mexico, and China, and it has opened doors in new markets.
Market access programs keep those doors open, though. When we talk about market access, we talk about getting the most value we can out of the product that's grown and processed here. Threats to access includes things like differential tariffs. For example, China has a 9% tariff for canola imports and only 3% for our biggest competing commodity, which is soybeans, and there are technical and non-tariff barriers. An example is China's 2009 restriction on blackleg. These threats have to be continually addressed.
One of the reasons we've been able to overcome access issues is the support of both trade and agriculture, and specifically the ministers and their departments participating with us and travelling to these key markets. They are able to open doors for us that we might not have been able to open ourselves.
Agriculture is one of the most exciting sources of economic development for Canada in the years ahead, and we think canola is one of the most promising commodities of all.
Thank you.