Thank you very much, Mr. Chairman and honourable members. Thank you for having our president here at the table today.
First, let me introduce Canada Pork International. We're the export promotion and development agency of the Canadian pork industry. We are an association of hog producers, packers, and trading companies.
The Canadian pork sector exports $2.5 billion every year to over 100 different countries.
We have been supportive of the FTA with Panama from the beginning. Generally speaking, Canada Pork International is in favour of all free trade agreements. This one was of particular interest because Panama has been a steady market for Canadian pork exports.
Exports are extremely important for the development of the Canadian pork industry. Our strategy is based on diversification, and any opportunity that we have to increase our access and our competitiveness in any given market is truly needed at this point in time. As you know, the Canadian pork industry has been facing difficult times, with currency exchange issues and oversupply in some producing markets. So any opportunity is extremely welcome.
In the case of Panama, it's a market that we are exporting around $5 million every year to. It's a top 15 market for us, and we can say that we've achieved our negotiating objectives. Basically, the bulk of the products that we're shipping right now to Panama consists of pigs' feet, tails, and by-product. So out of the $5 million, around $3.8 million of the current trade is going be duty-free upon implementation of the agreement. So I think we've achieved what we wanted out of this agreement.
I see some reaction to the types of products that could be sent to this market, in terms of feet and tails, but we're also shipping shoulders and hams to this market. We have to understand that to be successful, we cannot only have markets taking tenderloins, loins, and the noble cuts. These markets are extremely important for maximizing the value of a whole pig carcass. Outside of China, I would say that Panama has probably been the best market for pigs' feet and these products, which are actually value-added, because they are in-brine products that are not frozen. So they're fairly expensive products for this kind of export.
It's really important for us to move ahead with the FTA with Panama, because we have a window of opportunity to be there ahead of the U.S. They have signed an agreement with Panama, but as you know, it has not been implemented yet, so I think we're going to have a great window of opportunity to be more competitive in this market. Also, once the U.S. has their agreement, there are clauses in it that are going to improve our access. So in this situation, I think we are going to be advantaged by the FTA with Panama.
This is a very interesting market for us, as I mentioned. It's a top 15 market for Canadian pork exports. Whether this market is as critical as our other priorities, such as South Korea or Europe, I wouldn't say. This is a great break in a market that we need, but as for the other markets, like South Korea and Europe, obviously we're looking forward to the opportunity to come back before this group to discuss those free trade agreements, because we are extremely worried, especially in the case of South Korea, about the potential impact of not having a free trade agreement with Korea, when our competitors--Chile, the EU, and potentially the U.S., in upcoming months--will have an FTA. This is a $150 million market, and we are extremely concerned about this.
So we're really hoping.... I think I can say that for us Panama has been a smooth ride, and we have achieved our objectives. We've worked really closely with our chief negotiator in agriculture. I don't know if you have seen the details, but there's been a lot of work around the different cuts, and we really had a good working relationship on that. So we're really looking forward to this agreement moving ahead, for one thing so that we can take advantage of it ahead of the Americans, which is our biggest competition for this market. For another thing, we also want to move the priority and the resources to other FTAs that are extremely critical for the future success of our industry, such as, again, those with South Korea, the European Union, and Ukraine, which will also be very critical for the Canadian pork industry.
So on behalf of Canada Pork International and our chairman, I would really like to thank you for inviting us here today, for the support of the House of Commons and the various parties for listening to our issues, and for the dialogue and the various free trade agreements we've been involved with.
Thank you.