I guess where I left off was just saying that Japan's honey imports primarily come from China, Argentina, and Canada, in that order. One of the limiting factors for continued growth in the Japanese market is current import tariffs applied to honey from Canada. Countries such as Myanmar and Mexico—who have an FTA agreement with Japan—can export to Japan with 0% taxation, as long as they remain under the Japanese government's imposed quota limits. Countries such as China, Argentina, and Canada are subjected to a 25.5% tariff on all honey exported to Japan and have no quota limits.
Where this tax becomes quite difficult for Canadian exporters is in the fact that Canadian honey is of the highest quality, and is amongst the most expensive honey imported by Japan. While the Japanese consumer demands this honey, the Japanese packers are hesitant to expand their imports from Canada when they are already paying twice the price for Canadian honey compared to their imports from Argentina, and triple compared to imports from China.
While the removal of this tariff won't cause sales or profits to increase overnight, it will offer our producers more opportunities for expansion within the Japanese market.
I thank you for you time and consideration.