(Resource News International) — Agriculture Minister Gerry Ritz’s trade mission to China has led to agreements that will benefit Canadian pea and barley growers and hog producers, he said in a teleconference Thursday from Beijing.
China has agreed to remove its import restrictions on Canadian peas after a joint scientific review demonstrated that there is no health risk associated with naturally occurring selenium in Canadian peas, the government said.
Pulse Canada and the Chinese Cereals and Oils Association also signed a memorandum of agreement to increase the nutritional benefits of staple Chinese foods by adding pulse ingredients, said Ritz.
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The government said it will also invest more than $1 million to help Pulse Canada and its partners build Canada’s research and processing capacity to produce pulse flours and pulse-based ingredients that can be used in Chinese products.
That funding will flow through the Canadian International Grains Institute (CIGI) for a four-year Pulse Flour Milling and Utilization in Food Products project.
CIGI “will be able to help establish Canada as a leader in pulse ingredient processing by developing an understanding of how processing affects the functionality of pulse crops,” executive director Earl Geddes said in a separate release.
Canadian and Chinese scientists, meanwhile, will work together on a research strategy to use pulses in Chinese staple foods (noodles, steamed breads, dumplings), snack foods (cakes, muffins, biscuits, fried dough twists, fillings) and meat products.
China is currently Canada’s third largest market for pulses with 334,000 tonnes of exports worth $107 million in 2009, Pulse Canada said Thursday.
The pulse industry group cited Chinese industry sources in estimating the total flour market at 70 million tonnes per year. “Import demand for Canadian pulses could increase to 1.5 million tonnes worth an estimated $500 million,” Pulse Canada said.
China’s move on selenium limits is essential to reach the product-use growth envisioned in the memo of agreement, Pulse Canada said.
Ritz’s involvement “raises the profile of the industry’s issues and opportunities and we know this is very important to achieving results in China,” Pulse Canada CEO Gordon Bacon said in a separate release.
The government said it has also finalized an agreement to re-open the Chinese market to Canadian exports of purebred swine genetics.
“There are still challenges in the Canadian pork industry, but lifting this last restriction on swine exports to China will be a real profit boost for our producers,” he said.
The Canadian Swine Exporters Association expects total Canadian sales of purebred swine genetics to China to be worth $30 million this year, the government said in its release.
“Premium business”
The trade mission also included the signing of a memorandum of understanding between China and the Canadian Wheat Board guaranteeing the opportunity to sell an estimated $100 million worth of Canadian malting barley to China.
According to the CWB in a separate release Thursday, the deal is for at least 500,000 tonnes of malting barley over three year, resulting in guaranteed minimum sales of 150,000 tonnes each year to COFCO, the largest Chinese buyer of Canadian grain.
“As beer consumption continues to increase in China, Canadian malting barley has secured an important position in supplying Chinese brewers with high-quality product,” CWB CEO Ian White said.
The board described the deal as its largest long-term agreement ever for malting barley sales.
White called it “a significant piece of premium business in a highly competitive and volatile market. The support of Minister Ritz is important to achieving these types of positive outcomes for producers.”
“Western Canadian farmers continue to tell us that they deserve the freedom to market their own barley,” Ritz said in the government’s release. “But as long as the wheat board controls the barley marketing business, it’s in everyone’s interest to make sure business is good.”
“Good salesman”
Efforts to improve market access for Canadian canola in China were also made during the trip. Canadian canola exports to the country have been hampered in recent months due to Chinese restrictions on blackleg-infected canola seed.
“It will take more time and hard work to resolve that issue, but we’re not just sitting back and waiting,” Ritz said in the teleconference adding that “when a good salesman doesn’t get (a sale) at the front door, he goes around and checks at the back door.”
The Canola Council of Canada announced Thursday it will invest funding from the federal Agri-Flexibility program to drive initiatives aimed at stabilizing and expanding Canadian canola exports to China.
The council said it will invest up to $1 million to conduct field demonstrations and surveys to identify ways to minimize the risk of blackleg.
That will include co-operative studies with China to analyze ways to mitigate the transfer of blackleg to China’s crop, the council said in a separate release. The industry will also look at blackleg presence in Canada to determine a risk reduction strategy, the council added.
“With our research investments, we are confident that we will be able to adequately address China’s concern, resulting in an even stronger trade relationship,” council president JoAnne Buth said Thursday.
The council said it will also invest $500,000 for canola-meal feed trials in Chinese dairies, as previous studies show that canola meal in dairy feed increases milk production for each cow dramatically by one litre per day, said Ritz.
The council estimates Canadian canola producers could benefit from an additional $70 million by increasing the value of canola meal in China.
Ritz said the two countries also signed a renewed memorandum of understanding on science, technology, and innovation for agriculture between China and Canada.
The government noted Thursday that Ritz also “pressed his Chinese counterparts to recognize international scientific consensus that clearly states that Canadian beef is safe.”
China has remained completely closed to Canadian beef since Canada’s discovery of BSE in an Alberta cow in 2003. “Both countries committed to continued expert discussions to resolve the issue as soon as possible,” the government said.
— With files from AGCanada.com staff.
