Good afternoon. I'd like to thank you for the opportunity to appear before the standing committee this afternoon to discuss how trade opportunities in the Indo-Pacific can benefit pork producers.
My name is Gary Stordy. I'm the director of government and corporate affairs. I am pleased to speak on behalf of Canada's pork producers, who are responsible for generating 31,000 jobs on farms from coast to coast.
As you know, we are a trade-dependent sector. More than two-thirds of what we produce in Canada is exported either as live hogs or pork products around the world. Over the past five years, Canada pork has been exported to more than 125 countries. In 2021, these exports were valued at $4.9 billion.
The foundation for this success is built on trade agreements such as NAFTA, CETA, CPTPP and most recently CUSMA. All these agreements work to lower tariffs and barriers that prohibit trade. These trade agreements brought structure to sometimes very confusing import systems and rules of trade that should allow disputes to be quickly resolved. Our industry is fortunate to have trade agreements in key markets around the world and an established industry that knows how to sell and move pork to market.
Despite labour shortages at processing plants and supply chain disruptions, Canada's pork gets to where it needs to go, but governments around the world are putting that demand at risk with policies that directly affect our industry. We are concerned by the fact that countries are restricting the use of animal health products, implementing labelling rules, restricting how animals should be raised and, frankly, being slow to grant approval, whether it's for systems or even for our ability to ship to that country.
Canada is fortunate to have dedicated a public service in our foreign posts and here in Canada that works on our behalf. They are tasked with addressing these emerging issues. However, we know that officials are stretched to the point where additional resources and staffing are needed to take advantage of new trade opportunities in the Indo-Pacific.
The Canadian pork industry is very competitive in the world market and is well-positioned to capitalize on growth and opportunities in this Pacific region. That is why we are supportive of the Canadian government pursuing a Canadian-Indonesian agreement and a potential ASEAN agreement. ASEAN countries are increasing their consumption of pork in response to their growing household incomes. They represent a great market opportunity for Canadian pork.
As you are aware, out of the 10 ASEAN countries, four are already part of the CPTPP. The Philippines and Thailand, on the other hand, are not, nor are they part of any other agreement that we have. For us, these two countries represent important pork markets. The Philippines, for example, is the fifth-largest lucrative market, with sales of over $301 million. It's the fifth-largest market for volume, with over 126,000 tonnes of Canadian pork exported there last year.
In addition to market access opportunities, we believe that increased economic collaboration in the Indonesian region provides an opening to address important global animal health challenges. The spread of foreign animal diseases, such as African swine fever, in our case, has been impacting the global meat market trade for the past four years. For Canada to be recognized as a stable supplier of pork products, any strategy in the region must include the Canadian government actively working to secure animal disease control zones with each of these countries. Singapore already has an agreement to allow for safe trade from Canada in the event of a disease outbreak, but more agreements are needed, especially with key markets such as Vietnam, Philippines and Japan.
The pork industry is aware of the importance of not being dependent on any one market, whether it's in North America or in the Indo-Pacific region. However, it's impossible not to talk about the importance of the Chinese market to our industry and the need for a strategic approach for the Canadian-Chinese agriculture trade. For us, China is the world's largest importer of pork. It imports more than twice the second-largest importer and more than 30% of global imports. However, China is currently restricting 65% of Canadian pork processing capacity from accessing the country. The Chinese market adds an additional $10 to $20 of value to the carcass. That supports the financial stability of our industry and allows our industry to prosper.
We are pleased that our industry has had some success over the past year, with the Canadian and Chinese foreign ministers recently speaking. This is a market that we are unable to walk away from. It is of utmost importance that dedicated staff in the Canadian embassy in China reinforce the importance of the trading relationship for agriculture products as a whole.
To sum it up, CPC is a staunch supporter of Canada's effort to deepen economic ties, either through trade negotiations or strategies that expand commercial interests in the Indo-Pacific.
We do see the need to address that shortage of dedicated trained technical staff that can build working relationships with foreign officials to address emerging issues and facilitate the timely implementation of zoning agreements and system approvals.
I'd like to thank the committee for the invitation to appear and for your attention. I'd be pleased to answer your questions.