First, good morning, and welcome to friendly Manitoba. As was mentioned, my name is Heinz Reimer. I'm president of Manitoba Beef Producers. I'm joined by our policy analyst Maureen Cousins. We'd like to thank the committee members for travelling to Manitoba to seek comments on the importance of the Trans-Pacific Partnership agreement.
Manitoba Beef Producers represents approximately 7,000 individual Manitoba cattle producers, including cow-calf, backgrounding, and the finishing section. Our mission is to represent producers through communication, advocacy, research, and education, both within the industry and to governments, consumers, and others, and to improve prosperity and ensure a sustainable future.
In number of individual producers, the beef industry is the single largest livestock sector in Manitoba. We have Canada's third-largest beef herd, which represents approximately 11.8% of the cows in 2015. We are also the third-largest exporting province, behind Alberta and Ontario.
In recent years, the Manitoba beef industry has faced significant economic challenges, such as: BSE; trade disputes, such as the mandatory country-of-origin labelling dispute; and repeated adverse weather events, such as flooding. This has led to both a reduction in the size of our provincial herd and to fewer cattle producers on the Manitoba landscape. However, Manitoba beef producers are optimistic that new trade agreements such as the TPP can create opportunities for growth.
There is potential to increase cattle and beef production in Manitoba and to gain new entrants into our industry, if the conditions are right. Manitoba has large areas of natural grass well suited for cattle production. The improvement of cattle prices has stimulated renewed interest in our industry. Manitoba and partners, along with the provincial and federal governments, have made exciting investments in new research and extension with the establishment of the Manitoba beef and forage initiative from Brandon. This will enhance our beef production for generations to come.
Manitoba is now once again home to a federally inspected beef processing plant, Truth North Foods, out of Carman. This new federal slaughter capacity creates significant export opportunities direct from Manitoba to markets around the world.
As such, Manitoba Beef Producers is requesting that the Government of Canada swiftly ratify the TPP agreement. MBP, which is Manitoba Beef Producers, believes TPP brings with it significant benefits to the Canadian beef industry, providing enhanced market access to some of the world's fastest-growing economies in the Asia-Pacific region. Increased demand for cattle to supply these markets should benefit not only Manitoba producers but also Canadian producers, as businesses supply and service a growing cattle industry.
Of particular value in the TPP will be the reduction over time of Japan's 38.5% tariff on Canadian beef. It is essential that Canada be able to compete on an equal playing field with other countries in important trade markets like these. For example, being able to restore Canada's competitive position with Australia beef in the Japanese market is key to us. It is estimated that under TPP Canada could over time double or triple its beef exports to Japan. Without the TPP or the bilateral agreement with Japan, Canada could lose 80% of the value of our beef exports to Japan.
Further, the elimination of beef tariffs in Malaysia and Vietnam will also be beneficial going forward with potential to grow Canadian exports there.
Another possible advantage is that Korea has expressed interest in joining TPP, which will help speed up the tariff phase-out of Canadian beef.
The importance of exports from individual provinces such as Manitoba to TPP member nations cannot be overstated.
In the period 2012-14, Manitoba's agriculture and agrifood sector alone exported, on average, $3.3 billion in products annually to these countries.
