Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s tour through the region last week included a pledge of $31.8 million over five years for a regional agriculture office, to be set up at an as-yet-unnamed location.

The new office is meant to “position Canada as a preferred agriculture and agri-food supplier to the region, strengthening trade on both sides of the Pacific,” the government said Friday in a release.

The new agriculture office will be devoted to “engaging with stakeholders, regulators, and policy decision makers” and “deepen(ing) partnerships with Indo-Pacific partners to diversify export markets and products.”

The announcement comes as the feds work toward development of a comprehensive Indo-Pacific strategy — which was telegraphed in Global Affairs Canada’s departmental plan this spring, and which Foreign Affairs Minister Melanie Joly has said will be released before the end of this year. It’s expected that more details on the ag office will be announced after the overarching strategy is released.

In a joint statement, the Canola Council of Canada, Cereals Canada and Pulse Canada said they were “pleased to see” the support for an agriculture office, noting the Indo-Pacific region “represents a significant opportunity for Canada to diversify its agricultural exports while positively impacting global food security.”

Canada’s cereals, canola and pulse industries “enjoy a significant export share within the region and there are great opportunities,” the groups said, but “the rise of non-tariff barriers may prevent Canada from achieving its full potential in the region.”

Support for resources to deal with sanitary and phytosanitary issues in a “strategic, co-ordinated manner with industry” would help to build, and maintain, market access, they said.

“Nearly every day I get calls asking about Canadian soybeans, to resolve issues, or to do more promotion of our products in Indo-Pacific markets,” Brian Innes, executive director of Soy Canada, said Friday in a separate statement. “We’re ready to work arm in arm with our government partners to make today’s modest investment produce results.”

“It is important for Canada to have a proactive presence in the region to help address market assess barriers and increase Canadian beef exports by maintaining stable and open trade,” Canadian Cattle Association president Reg Schellenberg said of the proposed office in a separate release.

The Indo-Pacific region today takes about 20 per cent of Canada’s beef exports, the CCA said, listing Japan, mainland China, South Korea, Vietnam and Hong Kong as the region’s top five markets.

Funding initiatives Trudeau announced Friday in Bangkok also include $45 million over five years for “Modern Team Canada 3.0” minister-led trade missions; $92.5 million over five years for almost 60 new positions to “significantly expand” capacity at Canada’s missions in the region; and $13.5 million over five years to expand and diversify trade in Canadian natural resources.

“By opening new markets and opportunities for Canadian businesses, innovators, and entrepreneurs, and attracting investment to Canada in sectors like clean energy that will define the global economy, we are building an economy that works for all Canadians,” Trudeau said in a statement.

The Bangkok visit, Trudeau’s first to Thailand as prime minister, was the third and final leg of a tour of the region which also included appearances at the ASEAN (Association of Southeast Asian Nations) summit at Phnom Penh, Cambodia and the G20 summit in Bali, Indonesia. — Glacier FarmMedia Network

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Canada’s Trade Minister Mary Ng and her Indonesian counterpart Muhammad Lutfi on Sunday declared the launch of negotiations on a comprehensive economic partnership agreement (CEPA).

In a statement, they said they’ve “instructed officials to hold the first round of negotiations at the earliest opportunity,” expected in late 2021.

Canadians “expressed a high level of support for a possible Canada-Indonesia CEPA” during public consultations earlier this year, the government said in a release.

About 78 per cent of respondents to those consultations, launched in January, were deemed supportive of a free trade agreement.

Of those, about a third came from the agriculture and agri-food sectors, listing market access, dealing with technical trade barriers, investment and sanitary and phytosanitary measures as priorities. Environment, inclusive trade and labour issues ranked lower.

Meat exporters want challenges of entering the Indonesian market addressed. Particularly, they mentioned challenges from importing products with Halal certification, and issues stemming from how Canada’s meat inspection system meshes with packaging or labelling requirements in Indonesia.

Supply-managed sectors expressed support for a deal, so long as the federal Liberals uphold a commitment to not provide any more market-access to supply managed goods.

Across the board, there is broad support for Canada to pursue a bilateral deal with Indonesia at the same time it seeks a broader pact with the 10-nation Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), which is headquartered in Indonesia.

Canada and the ASEAN group held two rounds of exploratory talks, in 2018 and 2019, toward a possible trade pact. Four ASEAN nations — Vietnam, Malaysia, Singapore and Brunei — are already parties to the Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP) trade pact with Canada.

“References were made to the fact that pursuing a trade agreement with Indonesia would complement Canada’s other trade policy priorities, such as Canada’s overall trade diversification strategy, expansion of the (CPTPP) through accessions, and deepening commercial ties with the fast-growing Indo-Pacific region,” a consultation report from Global Affairs Canada said.

Indonesia has expressed a desire to negotiate a broader deal in parallel with a bilateral one.

“We see the benefit of both (deals),” Iffah Sa’aidah, a trade attaché in Ottawa with the Indonesian government, said. “There will be a benefit of both of the trade deals, usually the bilateral trade deal is more broad and deeper, maybe more technical and economic co-operation.”

Indonesia is a co-ordinator of ASEAN’s pursuit of a trade deal with Canada, for which formal negotiations are expected to begin in early 2022.

By itself, Indonesia is “one of the top destinations for Canadian cereal crops and a gateway into the rapidly growing Asia Pacific region,” Dean Dias, CEO of Cereals Canada, said in a release Monday hailing the two countries’ announcement.

Indonesia, he said, “is a major market and source of growth, especially for Canadian wheat exports. Consumers there buy 11 per cent of Canada’s wheat exports to the world, bringing over $600 million in value on average to Canadian farmers and exporters each year.”

Cereals Canada, he said, expects the CEPA negotiations to “strengthen the stability of market access over the long-term. For Canadian farmers and exporters, promoting science-based policies that elevates the trade and business environment is a real priority.”

Global Affairs Canada, meanwhile, said in its report that a bilateral pact with Indonesia could “contribute significantly to Canada’s overall economic, social and environmental priorities, in line with Canada’s commitment to an inclusive approach to trade.”

Including issues such as the environment or labour rights in trade deals are relatively new to Indonesian negotiators, who have expressed caution over Canada’s insistence on including such measures.

Despite such issues ranking as a lower priority, Global Affairs noted in its report “many submissions indicated support for Canada’s inclusive approach to trade, which aims to ensure that the benefits of trade are more widely shared. A few submissions mentioned that Canada is well-placed to ensure that any future agreement promotes equality, non-discrimination and human rights in both Canada and Indonesia.”

Some stakeholders suggested labour standards and human rights issues be addressed through a dedicated chapter in the trade agreement.

“Several stakeholders mentioned that poor health and safety regulations, low compensation and forced child labour in Indonesia are all factors that Canada should consider when negotiating an agreement,” read the report from Global Affairs.

Environmental concerns, including Indonesia’s limited environmental regulations, were also raised as a concern.

In Sunday’s announcement, the two countries’ trade ministers said jointly that “without prejudice to the final outcomes, the negotiations would cover mutually agreed areas of interest to both Indonesia and Canada, including market access, rules to facilitate trade and investment, and co-operation.”

Those talks, they said, would take into account “each other’s sensitivities and different levels of development.”

— Includes files from Glacier FarmMedia reporter D.C. Fraser in Ottawa.

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“Deepening trade ties with Indonesia would benefit Canadian businesses of all sizes and lead to economic growth and prosperity for years to come,” International Trade Minister Mary Ng said in a statement Monday.

Such a pact would benefit importers and exporters by improving market access to the world’s fourth most populous country, according to Global Affairs Canada.

Trade deals between Canada and some nations in the region are already in place, such as the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP) between Canada and 10 other countries: Australia, Brunei, Chile, Japan, Malaysia, Mexico, New Zealand, Peru, Singapore and Vietnam.

Indonesia’s developing economy has advanced significantly in the last decade, but is believed to still have growth potential led by a growing middle class. Among countries in Southeast Asia, Indonesia already boasts the largest economy.

It is also the largest export market in the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), a block of 10 member states, including the Philippines and Thailand. CPTPP members Brunei, Singapore and Vietnam also belong to ASEAN.

Canada and Indonesia are signees on a handful of general World Trade Organization (WTO) agreements, but currently have no bilateral trade pact. The two signed a memorandum of understanding on trade last August.

According to a release from the Indonesian embassy, the MOU was to “facilitate co-operation in the field of export development activities for Indonesia, focusing on support of Indonesian export promotion activities that includes trade in products and services particularly for women-owned or led SMEs (small and medium enterprises).

“The signing of the agreement is also a form of continuous efforts by Indonesia and Canada in finding ways to boost bilateral trade relations between the two countries.”

At the time, Indonesia’s ambassador to Canada said he hoped the two nations would find co-operation on a bilateral free trade pact or a regional one involving ASEAN.

Exploratory talks for a possible Canada-ASEAN trade deal started in 2017, offering some insight into the benefits and challenges of a deal with just Indonesia.

Ag opportunities

Face-to-face meetings between Canada and ASEAN members continued over the next few years and in 2018, Ottawa held public consultations on a potential pact.

Of the 49 submissions in that consultation, 20 were from agricultural stakeholders.

According to the government, stakeholders overall expressed support for a free trade deal and highlighted “existing barriers for Canadian firms, including high tariffs, sanitary and phytosanitary issues and non-tariff barriers” could be addressed.

“The government heard that there are significant opportunities for Canadian agricultural products in the ASEAN market, and that a possible FTA would level the playing field in ASEAN with Canada’s regional competitors, especially Australia” which already enjoys preferential tariff rates through its own FTA with ASEAN, a summary of the consultations said.

“Many agriculture stakeholders also suggested that Canada’s long-term goal should be to encourage ASEAN members to join the CPTPP.”

The strongest support came from export-oriented sectors, notably beef, canola, pork and grains.

According to the government, “a small number of stakeholders, especially from the supply-managed agricultural sectors” were skeptical of the benefits of a deal.

“Contributors indicated that support for an agreement would depend on outcomes that provide a carve-out for supply managed goods,” the summary said.

Ng and counterparts from ASEAN member states met virtually last August. In a joint statement following the discussion, the countries supported continued efforts toward a trade deal.

Consultation on the merits of a deal between Canada and Indonesia will run until Feb. 23. Those interested in sharing their views can do so by visiting Global Affairs Canada’s website.

— D.C. Fraser reports for Glacier FarmMedia from Ottawa.

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In its 2020-21 departmental plan, which sets priorities for the upcoming year, AAFC says it will “continue to assist the sector to take advantage of market opportunities and maintain or improve access to international markets, including through the negotiation and implementation of trade agreements, promoting Canadian agri-food products, and by resolving or mitigating market barriers.”

Some potential multilateral trade deals remain highlighted within the plan, which was developed before the pandemic crisis and made public in March.

The federal government is negotiating with the Mercosur block of countries, which includes Argentina, Brazil, Paraguay and Uruguay. Exploratory talks on a trade pact were concluded, and a first round of negotiations launched, in 2018.

Another trade deal in negotiation since 2017 involves the Pacific Alliance, made up of Colombia, Chile, Mexico and Peru, each of which are already have bilateral and/or multilateral free trade pacts in effect with Canada.

The AAFC document also mentions the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), which includes the Philippines, Thailand, Indonesia, Laos, Cambodia, Myanmar and four Trans-Pacific Partnership countries, Vietnam, Singapore, Malaysia and Brunei. Exploratory discussions toward an ASEAN trade pact were launched in 2017 and concluded last September.

The governing Liberal party has previously committed to increase and diversify agriculture and agri-food exports in order to reach its target of $75 billion in exports for the sector by 2025.

AAFC noted “increasing protectionism in other countries” that has led to the introduction of tariffs or non-tariff trade barriers impacting producers’ economic outlooks, but said in its planning documents it will be “advocating for a predictable and stable trade environment” to help to mitigate these risks.

Changes to how AAFC consults with players across the value chain will also come within the next year.

Value chain roundtables, which AAFC now uses as a key component of consultation, will move from being commodity-specific to more thematic-based.

“The department will establish and update sector-specific and thematic tables to address issues in the sector and will formalize opportunities for engagement through a modernized model,” the plan said.

The new roundtable model will also “include opportunities for engaging women, Indigenous peoples, and youth.”

As part of that work, over the next five years, AAFC plans to develop a strategy to offer more “gender-based analysis” in order to address gender gaps across the agri-food value chain.

Gender-based analysis is a theme throughout the document, as AAFC also commits to applying it to all trade agreements and “is exploring the use of targeted calls for program applications to encourage proposals related to underrepresented groups working in the sector.”

Aimed at “creating a more co-ordinated food systems-based approach to food-related opportunities and challenges in Canada,” the Food Policy for Canada launched last summer will also be implemented over the next year, aided by $134 million in funding.

AAFC plans to move the policy forward by helping Canadian communities access healthy food, make Canadian food a top choice domestically and internationally, support food security in remote communities and reduce food waste.

AAFC will be establishing an advisory council on the food policy, with representatives from the agri-food industry, civil society and academia.

Those efforts include AAFC plans to establish the long-awaited “Buy Canadian” promotion campaign, which will include promotional products to advertise Canada’s food system at home and abroad.

A food waste reduction initiative, which will include a fund to “seek innovative solutions to reduce food loss and waste” will be implemented as well.

Other measures are included in AAFC’s 2020-21 plans, including “possible changes to the AgriStability program.”

Calls for changes to business risk management (BRM) programming have long been in the works, highlighted by an AAFC review completed in 2018.

It’s expected an announcement on changes to BRM programs will come sometime this summer, though no mention of that is made in the department’s planning documents.

AAFC is expecting to “explore experimental approaches to program delivery that could provide data and knowledge leading to the growth of domestic markets and the diversification of export markets.”

Those efforts will include a “challenge fund” for innovations in food processing, grocery retail and food service.

“Challenges offer funding and other resources to help global innovators put their ideas into action and deliver meaningful results to Canadians,” the plan said.

AAFC is planning to shift the way agri-environmental research is conducted, according to its plans, by introducing a “Living Laboratories Initiative” using $10 million to “advance agricultural discovery science and innovation.”

The Living Laboratories Initiative will fund collaborative research between farmers and scientists that develops, tests and monitors new practices in a real farm context. Two of five sites in the works have been in operation since April 2019.

A project in Manitoba focuses on climate change, soil health, water health and biodiversity while dozens of people and organizations are involved in a project on Prince Edward Island focusing on subjects such as water management and fertilizer use.

Sites in Quebec and Ontario are being set up this year, with British Columbia establishing a Living Laboratory in 2021.

“The result will be more practical technologies and sustainable farming practices that can be adopted more quickly by Canadian farmers,” AAFC said.

— D.C. Fraser reports for Glacier FarmMedia from Ottawa.

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The federal government on Monday announced the resumed export clearance, along with new market access for Canadian sheep and goat genetics exports to both Indonesia and the Philippines.

The government quoted the Canadian Livestock Genetics Association as valuing the export market for live cattle to the Philippines at an estimated $8 million, and the markets for Canadian sheep and goat genetics in Indonesia and the Philippines at up to $100,000 a year.

The Philippines had shut its ports to live Canadian cattle in 2003, following the discovery of Canada’s first domestic case of bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE) in an Alberta cow. Post-BSE access for live Canadian cattle resumed in 2012.

But the Philippines’ export certificate for live Canadian cattle was again suspended in September 2015, following detections in southwestern Ontario of bluetongue-seropositive cattle, which cost Canada its bluetongue-free status.

Meanwhile, a government spokesperson said Wednesday, the work to open the two markets for small ruminant genetics was undertaken in response to requests from Canadian industry and exporters to “access these markets and seize business opportunities.”

Exports of Canadian breeding cattle and genetics “will also contribute to rural economic development efforts of the Philippines in the agriculture sector,” the Canadian government said Monday in a release.

The Canadian cattle sector’s post-BSE access in the Philippines has otherwise gradually reopened, as the country again allowed imports of Canadian beef in 2007 and of Canadian rendered meat and bone meal in 2010.

These market access gains are also “setting the stage for deeper bilateral economic relations” between Canada and the ASEAN (Association of Southeast Asian Nations) region, federal Agriculture Minister Lawrence MacAulay said in Monday’s release.

The ASEAN, combined, ranks as Canada’s sixth-largest trading partner, the government said. Last year, it noted, the Philippines alone accepted over $325 million in Canadian ag products and exported over $185 million in ag goods to Canada.

Canada and the ASEAN in September last year launched exploratory talks toward a possible free trade pact. That trade bloc would include Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Myanmar, the Philippines, Singapore and Thailand, as well as Vietnam, Malaysia, Singapore and Brunei, which with Canada are also members of the Trans-Pacific Partnership. — Glacier FarmMedia Network

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Prime Minister Stephen Harper and the Philippines’ President Benigno Aquino announced the discussions Friday in Ottawa during Aquino’s state visit, which ends Saturday.

A Canada-Philippines free trade agreement “would strengthen economic ties and give Canadian businesses access to one of the most dynamic and growing marketplaces in Asia,” the government said in a release.

Canada’s total exports to the Philippines in 2014 were valued at $569.7 million, of which 12.75 per cent was in meat and edible offal, 6.34 per cent in fertilizers, 5.32 per cent in cereals and 3.3 per cent in assorted agrifoods such as eggs, dairy products and honey.

By comparison, Canada imported about $1.24 billion in products from the Philippines last year, mainly in electrical equipment, mechanical appliances and other manufactured goods. About 3.7 per cent of Canada’s imports were in “fats, oils and waxes,” while 2.6 per cent were in fruits and nuts and 2.38 per cent in prepared vegetables, fruits and other foods.

A trade deal with the Philippines, the government added, “would also provide a gateway to the dynamic and high-growth Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) region for Canadian exporters.”

ASEAN is an economic development bloc of 10 nations in Southeast Asia, including the Philippines as well as Indonesia, Malaysia, Singapore, Thailand, Brunei Darussalam, Vietnam, Laos, Cambodia and Myanmar.

Canada is already in talks for a bilateral free trade deal with Singapore and announced plans in 2012 for exploratory talks with Thailand. Malaysia, Singapore, Brunei Darussalam and Vietnam are also parties to talks on the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP), along with Canada, the U.S., Japan, Australia and others.

Canada and the Philippines on Friday also announced discussions toward upgrading their 1996 Foreign Investment Promotion and Protection Agreement (FIPA), which “would give Canadian and Filipino investors greater confidence when doing business,” the government said.

Canada on Friday also granted the Philippines access to the Canadian Trade and Development Facility. The funding facility, set up last summer with a budget of up to $25 million per year, is meant to help developing countries negotiate, set up and benefit from trade and investment deals with Canada and other countries. — AGCanada.com Network

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