Evidence of meeting #33 for International Trade in the 42nd Parliament, 1st Session. (The original version is on Parliament’s site, as are the minutes.) The winning word was pei.
General Manager, Prince Edward Island Potato Board
I don't believe so, and again, I was just acknowledging how important the relationship we have with them is—
General Manager, Prince Edward Island Potato Board
Having said that, we want also to diversify our markets, and it would be good to have other customers as well.
NDP
Tracey Ramsey NDP Essex, ON
So if we sign, it wouldn't change, and presumably if we don't sign, you still would enjoy that 81% with the U.S. through the FTA and NAFTA.
General Manager, Prince Edward Island Potato Board
Are you stating that they would still be signing it?
General Manager, Prince Edward Island Potato Board
There is also a possibility that they may not sign it.
NDP
Tracey Ramsey NDP Essex, ON
Yes, that's what I'm saying. You're saying if we sign on there really wouldn't be any difference for that 81% for you. In the same way, if we didn't sign, and the U.S. signed, would it change anything for us in terms of potatoes and your 81%?
General Manager, Prince Edward Island Potato Board
Yes, I would say it depends on how the U.S. would view that. That is how I would answer that in a short answer.
Liberal
The Chair Liberal Mark Eyking
Thank you. Time is up, Ms. Ramsey.
We are going to Madam Lapointe, for five minutes.
Liberal
Linda Lapointe Liberal Rivière-des-Mille-Îles, QC
Good morning and welcome. I am pleased that you are here with us today.
I will add to what Ms. Ramsey was saying about potatoes. Earlier, you talked about the Chinese market, which produces 20 times more potatoes than Canada. You also talked about Japan, where you want to diversify the markets, and the United States a little. Right now, we have no access to the Japanese market. What can the potato product sales on those markets represent, either in tonnes or in monetary value? What can those sales represent for Canada?
General Manager, Prince Edward Island Potato Board
Are you specifically asking about processed potatoes?
Liberal
Linda Lapointe Liberal Rivière-des-Mille-Îles, QC
Either table potatoes or processed potatoes. Which ones can be more profitable for you?
General Manager, Prince Edward Island Potato Board
I know you spoke with Cavendish Farms yesterday. They would be much better qualified to talk about the value of the processing business. Certainly, I could speak from a seed and fresh perspective, and the question, just so I'm clear, referred specifically to Japan?
Liberal
Linda Lapointe Liberal Rivière-des-Mille-Îles, QC
It's more in relation to Japan, because there wouldn't be a tariff anymore. Earlier, you said that you did not have access to the Japanese market right now.
General Manager, Prince Edward Island Potato Board
Yes. To answer your question, that would be.... For example, the U.S. is currently selling $9.3 million there. I would say there is at least a $9.3-million opportunity there. That is a good example for this agreement, but I could also probably point out other countries, such as Taiwan or South Korea, where there are agreements in place, but we can't sell potatoes there. With Japan, Taiwan, and South Korea, I would say the opportunity for table stock and chip stock potatoes would be probably close to $20 million.
Liberal
Linda Lapointe Liberal Rivière-des-Mille-Îles, QC
Thank you.
I now have questions about lobsters. We all love them.
You said that quality products were sought after by some markets. I thought you were referring to Japan. You insisted that we send the products directly to the United States. However, how much have the sales of lobster gone up in Japan in recent years?
Executive Director, Prince Edward Island Fishermen's Association
I don't have the exact statistics with me today. However, the majority of the increase over the last five years has been in China.
Linda Lapointe Liberal Rivière-des-Mille-Îles, QC
You know that China is not part of the trans-Pacific parnership, correct?
Executive Director, Prince Edward Island Fishermen's Association
Yes, but a lot of what needs to be done in Japan is some more education in terms of what we have to offer as a product. The quality of processed products has increased dramatically over the last few years, and one of the positives is that there is basically zero mortality. That is very attractive to the restaurant, tourism, and other businesses, because it is a very high-value product, and there can be losses through the live shipments. We have been focusing on getting the word out that we have a desirable high-quality product that is becoming more convenient to consumers. New products are being developed, and we need to continue to do that, to get that out to more people and increase our sales to Japan.
Liberal
Linda Lapointe Liberal Rivière-des-Mille-Îles, QC
Thank you.
You mentioned China just now. I interrupted you not because I didn't want to talk about China. What exports are on the rise in that country?
If we had to hold meetings with China to promote our trade with that country, what would you like to see?
Executive Director, Prince Edward Island Fishermen's Association
That trend has helped us a lot. Sales to China, from P.E.I.'s perspective, doubled every year over the last five years, so this has been significant in putting the supply and demand balance more in place. Korea has been a very attractive market also, in terms of wanting quality product.
I will be careful what I say here, but certainly we don't want to just go into markets that are strictly price-driven, in that you are looking for product at lower prices. We need to maintain the amount of money that is going back to the harvesters. We cannot go back to $3 lobsters, so we need to be strategic in what markets we pursue.
Liberal
Linda Lapointe Liberal Rivière-des-Mille-Îles, QC
Thank you very much.
I think my time is up. I'm sorry. I would have liked to ask you questions.