International Trade Committee on June 5th, 2012

[Gerald Keddy, Conservative, South Shore—St. Margaret's, NS]

That brings me to my second point. There are a couple of traditional industries in Japan that I've always had a certain amount of sympathy for, as I come from the east coast of Canada and the southwestern part of Nova Scotia. We have a huge traditional fishery. Japan still has a small whale fishery. They take a lot of international heat for that, when in reality they've been whaling for probably a millennium.

It's no different from Canadians, whether we come from Europe or whether we're indigenous to the country. I think we can get a lot of goodwill through some very tacit support for that industry and the fishery, and in return....

Are you selling omega-3 oils specifically from seal? Omega-3 oil is very high quality, very healthy. It's a great vitamin supplement that we should be marketing in Japan. If you're not, you should be.

[John Tak]

Thank you.

Your remarks are dead-on. Yes, we are. We have a variety of omega-3 oil products from salmon, krill, and seal—

[Gerald Keddy, Conservative, South Shore—St. Margaret's, NS]

Good.

[John Tak]

—that we manufacture and export to Asia.

[Gerald Keddy, Conservative, South Shore—St. Margaret's, NS]

I know I'm running out of time, and I do want to get to the next witness, so I'll be quick.

Mr. Ilasz, that's a great story. The entrepreneurial spirit goes to show that you can start out in very modest ways and build an industry. I'm going to try your fruitcake, but I'm telling you, we all have great-grandmothers, all right?

[Voices]

Oh, oh!

[Gerald Keddy, Conservative, South Shore—St. Margaret's, NS]

The secret on the east coast is that you use lots of rum, but not so much as to overpower it.

My specific question to you, because you are facing a number of obstacles that you almost have to eliminate one at a time, but on your first visit to Japan....

I can tell you, on my first visit to Japan, the whole baking industry in Japan, the sweets, the confectioneries, they take it to a whole other level. It's like walking into a confectionery in Paris. It is absolutely incredible, very high-end, and amazing quality. You have a niche product here that should be able to fit into that marketplace extremely well.

[Ken Ilasz]

Yes, I was fortunate on this trade mission that I participated in three years ago to have the support of the partner I work with. The mission was part of the federal government. We'd had a show in the embassy in Tokyo, and then we went to Osaka and I was able to get a substantial order from a very highly respected department store called Takashimaya. They gave me my first good-sized order, which gave me instant credibility over there. This is a store that's existed for more than 100 years, and they don't buy anything just because it looks good.

That opened the doors for me, and from there it's just been....

[Gerald Keddy, Conservative, South Shore—St. Margaret's, NS]

Good for you.

[The Chair, Conservative, Rob Merrifield]

I want to thank you.

[Ken Ilasz]

I do have one thing to add.

[The Chair, Conservative, Rob Merrifield]

Sure, very quickly.

[Ken Ilasz]

It's my understanding that the consulate was closed in Osaka, but one was opened in Nagoya. The reason for that I was told is that the commercial activity in Nagoya and area is much more vibrant than in the Kansai area, which in the food business, according to the people I work with, is a depressed area. As our witness says, there are two main economic regions of the country, both with about 33 million consumers and one is working really well and the other is not working very well. This is one reason they went over to Nagoya.

[The Chair, Conservative, Rob Merrifield]

Thank you very much.

Now we'll welcome Mr. Eyking to the committee. We also want to welcome back Mr. Côté, and Madame Péclet. I think they're just visiting.

Go ahead, Mr. Eyking, the floor is yours for seven minutes.

[Mark Eyking, Liberal, Sydney—Victoria, NS]

Thank you, Mr. Chair.

I was on this committee 12 years ago, and it still seems—

[The Chair, Conservative, Rob Merrifield]

So much has changed.

[Mark Eyking, Liberal, Sydney—Victoria, NS]

The chair has changed a bit, but.... Anyway, it's good to be back.

Thank you, witnesses, for coming. I have a few questions.

Ken, my first couple questions are to you. One is with regard to this sugar duty that the Japanese have. Is that because the Australians—I know they produce a lot of sugar cane—have a better deal and the Americans have a better deal with sugar products? Or it's just that we're not ...?

[Ken Ilasz]

I don't have the answer to that, quite frankly.

[Mark Eyking, Liberal, Sydney—Victoria, NS]

So maybe everybody has to pay that duty.

[Ken Ilasz]

I think they do.

[Mark Eyking, Liberal, Sydney—Victoria, NS]

I don't think Japan is a big producer of sugar.

[Ken Ilasz]

No. Well, 60% of what they eat, they import.

I really don't know why they do that, quite frankly.

[Mark Eyking, Liberal, Sydney—Victoria, NS]

I have a couple of other questions. When you're dealing with some of these countries, yes, food safety is a big issue. Is there a move afoot, or is there a kind of protocol where...?

We have the CFIA here, the inspection agency. A lot of people complain about them, but at the end of the day, they have a job to do: to keep our food safe. Is there any collaboration with the same counterpart in Japan, where they have a stamp of approval that maybe the Japanese government could recognize? Is there any move afoot, or is that happening?

[Ken Ilasz]

Yes, actually; there is a form that you can have attached to your export, which is CFIA approved. You bring all your science. My cake has thousands of dollars of science behind it to guarantee that people won't get sick. That form then goes along with the shipment. The freight porters deal with the customs and they sort of make that happen.

[Mark Eyking, Liberal, Sydney—Victoria, NS]

It sort of helps to have that approval, then.