Ottawa - The Canadian Pork Council (CPC) has been following with great interest developments in trade negotiations between Canada and South Korea and welcomes today's news that the Canada- Korea Free Trade Agreement (CKFTA) will be implemented on January 1, 2015.
"The completion of the CKFTA was of critical importance for the Canadian pork sector. South Korea has long recognized the quality of our pork and we look forward to rebuilding market share lost in recent years," stated CPC's Chair Jean-Guy Vincent. "The absence of an FTA with Korea was causing substantial and growing prejudice to the Canadian pork industry due to tariff rate disadvantages arising from all of our key competitors - the United States, the European Union and Chile - already having FTAs with South Korea in place."
The CKFTA will allow the pork industry the possibility of being on an equal footing with those competitors in what has at times been the industry's third or fourth most important export market.
The high value of pork items sold there, such as shoulder cuts and bellies, is significant enough to have a major impact on Canadian hog prices and jobs in both the farming and processing sectors. An American study evaluated the benefits for the US pork sector of the FTA between US and Korea at US $10 per hog and the benefits for the Canadian pork industry of a free trade deal with South Korea should be similar as those in the US.
The CPC serves as the national voice for hog producers in Canada. A federation of nine provincial pork industry associations, our organization's purpose is to play a leadership role in achieving and maintaining a dynamic and prosperous Canadian pork sector.
Source: CPC