International Trade committee  Great. You know, we look at Japan and the potential there, and we know that Japan imports over half of the beef it consumes. Now, as a competitive situation, Australia and New Zealand have supplied somewhere between 90% and 95% of the beef that Japan imports. The beef imports in Japan really grew quite significantly during the 1990s, after they eliminated quantitative restrictions they had previously.

International Trade committee  Thank you very much. It's always my pleasure to come and visit with you on the trade issues, and there are many trade issues that are very important. As you know, and as we've talked about in the past, over half of Canada's beef and cattle production is exported. Nearly 80% of what we export goes to the United States, but we can do better in other markets, and we do face a number of barriers in other markets.

International Trade committee  I think your point is well placed there. Just because there has been almost no trade in the past doesn't mean there isn't potential for the future. What I would look at is through our beef promotion agency. In looking at this agreement during the negotiations, they contacted the export companies and asked if there was any interest in Jordan, and they said yes, they had not been there in the past, but there is some interest.

International Trade committee  It was 21% to 28% on processed products. Those would be things like sausages, deli meats, and those sorts of things. The thing about these markets is that it is a combination of what they'll take. We think there really is a good opportunity for the high-value cuts in the Middle East.

International Trade committee  We certainly have prioritized. We've worked very closely with Minister Ritz to make sure that he's aware of the priorities, as well as Minister Fast. We've been quite pleased with the work they've been doing in those marketplaces. We've spent a lot of time over the last couple of years on getting the Korean market reopened.

International Trade committee  Yes, it's a small country and it's a fairly small population, but if you look at their food production domestically, you'll see that they have less than 50% self-sufficiency in food. They import more than half of their food. It's an arid country. It's a desert country. I believe that somewhere around 7% of their land base is arable land, so what they're going to produce on that land is largely going to be fruits and vegetables.

International Trade committee  Yes. The beef side has been very small. We were shut out until February of 2009. The BSE restrictions were lifted in 2009. That said, the trade statistics show that we exported I believe about $21,000 worth in 2007. That's small. It could even be a statistical error, being that small.

International Trade committee  I think that's right. We see Jordan as a part of the Middle East region. Whether Jordan is the gateway or the stepping stone, or if it's an added benefit to have that available when you're doing business in one of the other countries, I guess is a matter of semantics. But the point is we have beef exporting companies that have been very interested in Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, and, even more recently, Kuwait and Qatar.

International Trade committee  Thank you, Mr. Chairman, and thank you for the opportunity to appear before the committee again. I'd like to reconfirm the support of the Canadian Cattlemen's Association for the Canada-Jordan free trade agreement. Jordan has not traditionally been a significant market for Canadian beef, and it's not likely to become one in the near future, but this agreement will enable us to regain equivalent terms of access that the U.S. beef industry has enjoyed in Jordan since 2001.

International Trade committee  We are always engaged in trade negotiations. Market access is extremely important for the Canadian beef sector, and we have a number of mechanisms through which we engage with the federal government. There is the Agricultural Market Access Secretariat. There is the Beef and Cattle Trade Advisory Group.

International Trade committee  Yes, on this negotiation we have a lot of confidence that the negotiators understand what it is we need to get for the beef sector.

International Trade committee  No, we haven't seen any drafts of anything. That would be normal in negotiations. We don't usually expect to see the drafts. What we do expect is close collaboration with the negotiators. We've been doing that with the federal negotiators and the provincial negotiators to make sure they know what our positions are.

International Trade committee  Yes, I can hear you great. Thank you very much.

International Trade committee  Thank you very much, Mr. Chairman. We certainly appreciate not just the opportunity to be here but the accommodation to do it by video conference. It is important to us because the Canada-Europe comprehensive economic and trade agreement represents the most significant opportunity in a generation to create new market access for Canadian beef exports.

Health committee  Thank you again for the accommodation earlier, and thank you for the invitation to appear and present before the committee. The Canadian Cattlemen's Association is always willing to appear before members and provide information on various things that are going on in our industry.