Okay.
The United Kingdom is Canada's fifth-largest trading partner. Canadian exports to the United Kingdom were approximately $20 billion in 2019, and its imports from the UK totalled $9 billion, for a positive trade balance of $10.6 billion. It's a key partner.
One of the outcomes of Brexit is that the trade agreement will no longer apply to trade between Canada and the United Kingdom after December 31, 2020. That's why an interim trade agreement should be signed quickly before the ratification of a new comprehensive free trade agreement between the two countries. I should have said a comprehensive trade agreement and not a comprehensive free trade agreement.
For the time being, virtually all the measures in the European agreement have been renewed. In view of the tight deadlines, this may be the most sensible solution under the circumstances, but things will not be as simple going forward.
As with trade in goods, the balance for agricultural trade between Canada and the United Kingdom has been positive for several years. Exports of agricultural commodities from Canada to the United Kingdom totalled $307 million in 2019, compared to imports of $65 million. There is therefore a positive trade balance for agricultural commodities, but when agri-food trade is included, namely processed products, the balance is reversed. Canadian agricultural exports to the United Kingdom were $456 million, whereas imports totalled $608 million, for a negative trade balance.
The same is true for the 28 countries of the European Union. The agricultural balance is positive, but the agri-food balance between the countries of Europe, including the United Kingdom, and Canada is negative and totals $2.8 billion.
The above data show that our agricultural and agri-food trade with the United Kingdom is uneven. Indeed, agri-food exports from Canada to the United Kingdom mainly consist of agricultural commodities, whereas Canadian imports are primarily processed products. The pattern is similar to our trade with Europe.
A glance at recent developments in exports of Canadian agricultural goods to Europe shows that between 2016 and 2019, Canadian agricultural exports grew by only 10%, whereas Canadian agricultural imports increased by 30% over the same period. In a letter to the Prime Minister of Canada in September, five former provincial premiers condemned Europe's lack of openness towards Canadian agri-food exporters.
Let's look a little more closely at this state of affairs. The agreement with Europe did not turn out as well as expected. That's also what the five former provincial premiers said. The agreement did not meet its commitments to our agri-food exporters.
The European Commission and its member states continue to erect all kinds of barriers, for example for pork, beef, canola, sugar and grain. The expected reduction or elimination in CETA of several trade barriers were shelved. For example, there is the Italian regulation on labels of origin for pasta, which will be harmful to Canadian wheat exporters. This is inconsistent with the European Union's commitments under CETA and European Union law. Worse still, the ploy is likely to be copied for other products elsewhere in Europe.
In October, the Canadian Minister of Agriculture, Marie-Claude Bibeau, agreed with the former premiers by saying she would like to see Canada benefit from CETA, but we're still waiting. The minister added that the agreement had in some respects been beneficial—though in very few instances—for example, exports of canola and biofuel. She would like the agreement to be more balanced.
We could mention a few other examples of this imbalance. In 2019, cattle producers exported less than 3% of the 19,580 tons of fresh beef it was entitled to export to Europe without any customs duties. The situation is even worse for frozen beef, with no exports from Canada to Europe. On the other hand, Europeans exported 99% of the specialty cheese volumes to which they were entitled and 71% of industrial cheese volumes. These increased imports to Canada have affected Quebec in particular, because it produces 65% of specialty cheeses made in Canada.
Producers and processors of goat's milk and sheep's milk also suffered losses owing to additional cheese imports. This young but developing area of production in Canada is having trouble competing with a well-established European industry that receives significant government assistance. In Quebec, cheese imports totalled approximately $152 million in 2019. Of this amount, $6.6 million came from the United Kingdom.
Canadian farm producers must comply with standards not always applied to imported European products. Indeed, there is no reciprocity in terms of standards, particularly for cheese imported from Europe, such as the use of copper vats, which are allowed in Europe but prohibited in Canada, the maturation of unpasteurized milk cheeses, the use of certain additives, and the threshold value for certain bacteria. In other words, it's easier and there are fewer restrictions in Europe than in Canada, and we don't place restrictions in Canada on products imported from Europe. It's utterly unfair. As nearly all of the flaws in the agreement with the United Kingdom have been renewed, the situation will continue if something is not done in the eventual permanent agreement. The errors of CETA will simply be reproduced.
Added to the flaws in CETA is the fact that there is more agricultural support in Europe than in Canada. As the following table shows, in 2019, the OECD estimated European assistance at 19% of total farm revenue. For Canada, the figure was 8.8%. Despite Brexit, this support will continue for United Kingdom agricultural producers until 2022. The table shows that most OECD countries provide market price support, as Canada does with supply management.
I spoke about the European Union, but when Canada is compared to other countries, even to the United States, support for Canadian producers is lower. Hence our recent efforts with Ms. Bibeau to improve risk management programs in agriculture in Canada. We can sign all kinds of treaties with other countries, but if Canadian government support is not comparable to the support received by producers in the countries we want to compete with, they won't be of any benefit to Canada.
This, then, is what we're asking for. First of all, Canada needs to be firmer in its negotiations with the United Kingdom to avoid simply renewing the failings in the European agreement. The United Kingdom must reduce and perhaps even eliminate its non-tariff barriers to meet its commitments. The Canadian agriculture and agri-food sector should not take the hit for Brexit. If trade adjustments are needed, then volume redistributions have to be made between the United Kingdom and Europe.
And Canada should not give up further market share for its sensitive products, more specifically those subject to supply management, including in its negotiations with the United Kingdom, and also in its Mercosur negotiations.
Adjustments are also required at the border to better identify cheese imports by type of milk, particularly goat's milk and sheep's milk, as I mentioned earlier, to allow a more accurate analysis of the impact of opening our markets to Europe. The HS codes currently in use are based on a classification by type of cheese, such as cheddar, Parmesan, and Romano. With this system, it's difficult if not impossible to track trade in goat's milk and sheep's milk cheese.
Lastly, Canada needs to provide a competitive level of support, both financial and regulatory, to its agricultural enterprises, and it should be equivalent to the support received by the agricultural sectors of its main trading partners.
I can now take any questions you may have.