Thank you very much for the opportunity to be here today and to present to you on behalf of the B.C. Cattlemen's Association and its members. In a lot of ways, our industry is very much a national industry, so what is good for us here in British Columbia is the way it works for us pretty much right across the country.
I want to begin by talking a little bit about the importance of the beef industry to Canada and British Columbia, and about trade in general. Trade access to all markets is extremely important. In 2003, with the discovery of BSE in Alberta we saw all of our doors close. With an industry that exports close to 50% of our product out of Canada, we can't eat our way out of a situation like that. The six months that it took for the U.S. to open its borders were extremely difficult for us. Since then we've gradually seen the doors open to other countries and other trading partners around the world, but it's been slow and there have been a lot of restrictions and regulations put on us, which has also made it difficult to gain access. I'll address some of this as I go through what the TPP means to us.
Global supplies of beef are at an all-time low. We need these markets to incite the investment that we need to grow our industry back here in Canada. Being at the table with the Trans-Pacific Partnership is actually quite important to us. Especially with our vast expanse of arable lands here in British Columbia and Canada, we know that over the next 20 to 30 years, 30 to 40 years, we're going to probably become one of only six countries in the world with the ability to produce more than what we can consume. Knowing that, we have to prepare for that for the future. We have to make ourselves invest in what we're going to need in 30 years' time, because we feel that agriculture and the beef industry will be very important economic drivers for Canada and British Columbia.
One of the things that we consider here in B.C.—and I know that our provincial government has made it very clear—is that we are a gateway to both Canada and the Pacific. As such we can showcase, as you pointed out Mr. Merrifield, the beautiful country out here and the vast resources and the environment, which is very inviting when we have the Asian and Pacific markets coming over to visit us. That's what they see and that's what they take home, and it's a huge selling point for us in our industry.
One of the things we have to consider in all of this is that with our industry and what we do, we have an animal that we break out, a carcass. It's roughly 900 pounds of raw product to utilize. But not all countries or cultures want to utilize the same parts of that carcass, so it's extremely important for us to have a wide variety of different markets available to us. We call it whole-carcass utilization.
The signing of the CETA was extremely important to us, one, because of the volumes; two, there are no tariffs; and three, they're utilizing parts of the carcass that we're not utilizing in other parts of the world. This brings in the Pacific and Asian partners; they're utilizing different parts of that carcass. If we can do that in a way that we are spreading that around the world, it allows us to utilize and get a premium for all portions of that carcass, rather than just part of it.
So whole-carcass utilization is important, and that's why getting markets around the world and in different areas is very important to us.
The other part about this is that we're so dependent on the U.S. right now. Approximately 45% to 47% of our product is being exported out of Canada, but of that, about 73% goes into the United States.
We are very dependent on that U.S. market. By creating partnerships in Europe and in the Pacific, we are able to spread that out and become less dependent on the U.S. It also helps our capacity and our processing. If we process it here at home rather than sending it south of the line to be processed down there, we're able to keep the jobs at home and we're able to add value in the processing sector, and that all helps us in the overall economics.
In the TPP consideration alone, we have to look at certain things, because it's not just a matter of having them at the table. It's having the right people at the table and making sure that we have a good balance. We know that coming into the Trans-Pacific Partnership, we not only have people we want to trade with but we have competitors sitting at the table there as well.
So in the plurilateral agreement that is being looked at here, it's very important that we are all equal and that there is not a benefit given to one, a quota taken here, or a quota taken there. All tariffs have to be removed in the same timely fashion to the same level for each of the countries, so that we are on an equal and level playing field. We also can't see these tariffs or hindrances being put on one country over another for such things as our health and our practices, so we need a standard. We would like to see it go under the OIE standards, and that way there is a set field and a set of guidelines that we all follow.
We also feel that it's very important that any decisions made must be science-based. We know that with emotion and with the quickness of media travel, some get the wrong interpretation or the wrong feeling or the wrong idea about some of what comes forward. So we must make sure that all decisions on the trades that are made, the deals that are made, and the standards going forward are based on science so that we're also on that equal playing field. It can only be beneficial that we are all on that equal playing field.
There must be a single agreement so that we include all the countries. I believe there are 11 or 12 right now that have signed up, and we know there are more to come. It wasn't beneficial to us really until we started seeing the likes of Japan coming online. Vietnam is very important to us, but Japan and Korea—which we have indication will probably sign—make it extremely important to us.
With the partners currently at the table, it's very important that we be part of it. To be outside of that circle would be a detriment as well. If you're not totally in agreement with the deal, that's one thing, but if you're outside of it, you have no say. So we feel it's very important to be part of the negotiations and part of the partnership.
B.C. is going to benefit from any agreement that it makes with any of the Pacific trading partners, and a lot of that is due to our proximity. It's due to the other products that we're marketing. The lumber industry, for example, has had great successes in China, and we know the value and the population base that we have to work with. It's extremely important for us in the beef industry to get that investment now so they can start to prepare and make their alliances so they can have some food security in the future. It's very important to us to be able to supply that.
With the growing need to produce safe high-quality food to supply a global demand, it's imperative that we be at the negotiating table, but it is equally important that we make the right deal. The agreements reached here will mould our agricultural production and its economic impact for Canada for our future generations. The long-term effects must be carefully considered in the negotiations, but the opportunity to expand our trading markets is before us and we need to take advantage of it.
With that, I'll conclude my presentation. I thank you once again very much for the opportunity and I look forward to questions. I find that's the best place to actually get the real opinions out. Thank you.