International Trade committee  I think Canada is recognized for the high quality of its products. Compared with many other countries, our regulations are probably among the most stringent, if not the most stringent. This imposes certain constraints, of course, but it also forces us to be competitive. In some respects, our production costs may be higher, but on the other hand, providing a high-quality and recognized product gives us access to those markets.

International Trade committee  I will let Mr. Rice answer this question, which concerns statistics.

International Trade committee  Yes. It's an opportunity that a free trade agreement opens the door in markets and here. The new negotiation between Canada and Japan is moving forward. We hope that Canada will conclude a new free trade agreement with Japan.

International Trade committee  Regardless of the farming sector they operate in, farmers are always vulnerable. No matter where they are in terms of time, governments have to recognize that reality and establish programs. As you said, programs are needed to help people in case of difficulty. This is a multi-billion dollar economic sector.

International Trade committee  We need to recognize that when Korea chose to negotiate first with the United States and the EU, that had an impact for us in Canada. I will ask Martin to give the statistics about the impact in Canada.

International Trade committee  Thank you for the compliments. I served as president of the Fédération des producteurs de porcs du Québec—Quebec's federation of hog producers—for five years, so I am happy to accept the compliment. I want to say a word on producers from other Canadian provinces. If you have read La Terre de chez nous lately, you know that we held a meeting with U.S. and Mexican producers.

International Trade committee  I want to thank the political parties that are working together to ensure the progress of Canadian agriculture. Aside from political parties, the political spectrum plays a part, as I mentioned. We thank you for this support, and we also thank the government, which led those negotiations.

International Trade committee  Our industry has faced serious challenges in terms of our ability to compete in the world market in the recent past, including a strong Canadian dollar, historically high grain prices, and a world economic slowdown. However, we have managed to come through all of that with a smaller but highly competitive hog sector, and we must not lose sight of the Canadian hog industry's long-term interest.

International Trade committee  Okay. The economic development associated with hog production and exporting pork contributes $9 billion to the Canadian economy. Canada is a globally competitive and successful producer and exporter of pork and high-quality pork products. I thank you for the time you have allowed us.

International Trade committee  Thank you. I will talk in French. Mr. Chair, I want to begin by congratulating you on being elected to preside over this committee. My name is Jean-Guy Vincent. I am a hog producer from Sainte-Séraphine, Quebec, and Chair of the Canadian Pork Council's Board of Directors. I am joined by Martin Rice, the Canadian Pork Council's Executive Director.

Agriculture committee  In the pork industry, there are no hormones. There never have been. None.

Agriculture committee  Globally, hormones are not used in raising hogs. Hogs are raised without hormones. Hormones do not exist in the pork industry.

Agriculture committee  In Canada. I cannot speak for the rest of the world, but I have no knowledge of hormones being used in raising hogs.

Agriculture committee  Yes, we are ready to export to European markets. You have to understand that we are currently exporting to a number of markets, including unstable ones. The Canada-Europe agreement will allow access to stable markets for Canadian producers and for Canadian industry. This is a market of 500 million people.

Agriculture committee  I could not tell you what the price difference is. We eat a lot of ribs here and we import some. A lot of restaurants serve them. On the other hand, they eat ham in Europe and we have ham to export. That is why the agreement is favourable. As for the prices, Martin can probably answer your question better.