International Trade Committee on Feb. 3rd, 2014

[Dr. Bruce Banman]

You're on your own on that one.

[Randy Hoback, Conservative, Prince Albert, SK]

I'm just throwing it out there, but the facts prove for themselves.

I was looking at Abbotsford. Of course I'm from the great city of Prince Albert and when I think of Abbotsford I think of the air show and the aerospace sector that's growing in Abbotsford, and you touched on that a little bit. But before I go there, you talked about blueberries and you also grow cranberries I hear.

[Dr. Bruce Banman]

We grow blueberries and strawberries. We were the largest producers of raspberries in the world before Croatia and Chile got into that market. We grow strawberries, blueberries, and cranberries, and we have many cold crops, which are the things that as a kid you didn't like to eat, like broccoli and cauliflower and Brussels sprouts and that sort of stuff.

We actually produce 90% of the province's eggs as well.

[Randy Hoback, Conservative, Prince Albert, SK]

I say that because right now in the EU the seasonal tariffs can be as high as 18% on cranberries. So if you look at that, it could really have an impact in this region when you take not 300 million but actually 500 million customers and throw that market at them.

Again, when you look at the tariff on frozen fruits and vegetables, which is what you're talking about here, these are high-value crops.

[Dr. Bruce Banman]

Yes.

[Randy Hoback, Conservative, Prince Albert, SK]

These aren't wheat and barley; these are high-value per acre crops that employ a good number of people. That tariff could be as high as 14.5%, so the impact of that, of course, is that it locks in a zero percent tariff.

How do you see that impacting your region as far as the ability to access the market goes and in ensuring you have those 500 million customers buying your product?

[Dr. Bruce Banman]

Well, for us it opens up markets by reducing that tariff. Blueberries, for instance, ship very well fresh. There is an almost 10% tariff on blueberries now. That would open that market share up.

I might add that not only are we the number one producer of blueberries—and it's not only me saying this—we have some of the best blueberries and a different variety, because they're bush-grown rather than low-level blueberries. They are some of the sweetest blueberries there are. So the demand for those in foreign markets is incredible. We just need to be able to get access to them. I was speaking with the consul general of China, for instance, and she said that a cup of blueberries sells for six dollars U.S. in China. Let us at that market. Find us ways to get there so we don't have tariffs and duties and things in the way.

As far as frozen berries go, we sit on a cache of frozen blueberries. For the frozen market alone on vegetables and blueberries, again, we have the most productive farmland in Canada. The Niagara region produces one third of what we produce, to put it in perspective. Let us at those markets.

If we value food security in Canada for our own Canadian market, it seems logical to me that we want to do everything we can to support farmers.

I believe this is also going to work with some of the very money the federal government has invested, because recently you invested $2.8 million for the development of innovative production practices and quality pest management tools for the Canadian berry industry. So you're going to support the very money you've used to help production to begin with.

[Randy Hoback, Conservative, Prince Albert, SK]

That's exactly right, and actually it seems every break week or personal time when we have a chance to be back in our ridings, our agriculture minister has been out and about breaking down barriers in all sorts of markets, whether they're for beef or pork.

You also mentioned pork. I found it really interesting to go to the pork producers' function right after this was announced. They said that finally there is a light at the end of the tunnel and there is something they can see, and this gloomy thing called the pork sector actually has some future and hope in it.

What are they saying to you?

[Dr. Bruce Banman]

We have watched a slow dwindling of the pork industry in our area. We are down considerably from what we used to be.

Given both the European and the Asian appetites for pork, there is an opportunity there. We have some of the finest pork-raising practices in the world.

I would say to you that it's probably easier to get into the House of Commons than it is to get into a pork farm in my area. You have to go through biohazard checks and security. They have all the technology to raise what is, in my understanding, some of the cleanest and healthiest pork.

That industry sure could do with some more markets, and anything we can do to help especially what they call the “cold market” or the “fresh market” would be greatly appreciated and helpful to my region.

[Randy Hoback, Conservative, Prince Albert, SK]

Just quickly on the aerospace sector, that's a growing sector in your city. Can you just talk to us about what it means to them?

[Dr. Bruce Banman]

In Abbotsford we have two things. First, we have the only jet firefighter in the world. It was produced and innovated right in Abbotsford. We're very proud of that. That is through Conair, and they are one of the world's largest manufacturers of firefighters.

We also have all of our C-130 Hercules. There we actually take the wing frame off—which is what you hang the plane on—and we strengthen that, lengthen the fuselage, and put more powerful engines on it. We are now one of two places in the world that are full maintenance facilities for that. That 12.5 acres actually produces as much in wages in our local economy as roughly 140 square miles of farmland does. It's amazing what they produce for the economy, because they're all great high-sector, high-paying jobs.

I've talked with them and they've said, “Let us at these markets”. They also have similar trade and procurement policies. They're looking to get into that area.

[Randy Hoback, Conservative, Prince Albert, SK]

As far as the future of that sector is concerned, then, it's market share, more activity—

[Dr. Bruce Banman]

It would be more market share. I would remind this committee that aerospace technology is the fifth-largest industry in Canada. It is a high-sector industry. It has great-paying jobs. On our floors, I think people start at between $25 and $30 an hour to sweep floors. Most of the people there are from all over the world. It is a very diverse workforce.

Abbotsford actually is the third most culturally diverse city in Canada. We have people from all over the world. A third of them are immigrants, and we have 40 languages spoken within the city. It's an amazingly diverse city, and aerospace is quite important to it.

[The Chair, Conservative, Rob Merrifield]

Thank you very much.

To go back to your comment that it's easier to get into the House of Commons than a hog barn, they'll let anybody in. That's why we're there.

[Voices]

Oh, oh!

[The Chair, Conservative, Rob Merrifield]

Go ahead, Mr. Pacetti.

[Massimo Pacetti, Liberal, Saint-Léonard—Saint-Michel, QC]

Speak for yourself, Mr. Chairman.

Thank you to the witnesses for coming in front of the committee today.

I have a quick question for you, Mr. Banman. Can you please give me that statistic again on agriculture in Abbotsford, the per acre...?

[Dr. Bruce Banman]

If you include all of the subsidiaries in that market, it's close to $2 billion a year. We are the most productive per acre. The Niagara region is the next closest, and it produces a third per acre that we produce. We live in some of the richest, most fertile lands in the world.

[Massimo Pacetti, Liberal, Saint-Léonard—Saint-Michel, QC]

Is that productive in terms of yield or dollar?

[Dr. Bruce Banman]

The total dollar yield per acre is how they do that. It's not just the weight; it's the actual value of the product. We also include greenhouses as well.

[Massimo Pacetti, Liberal, Saint-Léonard—Saint-Michel, QC]

Okay.

Speaking as a Quebecker, I think some people would disagree with you in terms of blueberries. There are some good blueberries grown in northern Quebec, so I think some people would dispute that.

This leads me to my other question for you. Is it not easier for your fresh produce to be shipped to the Asian market or across the Pacific than to send it all the way over to Europe?

[Dr. Bruce Banman]

You know, I don't really think it makes that much of a difference, because what happens now is that most of that fresh product ends up going by jet. That's why the airlines give you a hard time about taking a second bag. They have found out that there's more money in cargo than in your overpacking, bringing twelve pairs of socks when you only wear three.

[Massimo Pacetti, Liberal, Saint-Léonard—Saint-Michel, QC]

That's right. I know the feeling. It's happened to me.

[Dr. Bruce Banman]

So it really doesn't make much difference within that. We get fresh products brought in from all over the world.

[Massimo Pacetti, Liberal, Saint-Léonard—Saint-Michel, QC]

Distance is no longer a factor, then.