Farmscape for April 21, 2006  (Episode 2117)

Manitoba Pork Council is calling for global solutions to the problems that continue to threaten Canadian agricultural producers.

Earlier this week, in its final injury determination, the Canadian International Trade Tribunal ruled unprocessed grain corn imported from the United States into Canada has not harmed and does not threaten to harm the Canadian corn industry.

The decision means the collection of provisional countervail and antidumping duties will end and those already collected will be refunded.

Manitoba Pork Council Chair Karl Kynoch says the decision reflects the realities of grain corn use in Canada, particularly Manitoba which is corn deficient.

Clip-Karl Kynoch-Manitoba Pork Council 

I think what we have to realize is that the depressed grain prices actually need to be dealt with globally for that's something that's affecting more than just the corn producers.

It's affecting all the agricultural industry.

When we look at the level of duty that we were being faced with, of $1.75 a bushel for corn, it was completely unsustainable for us in the livestock industry for it was going to make us very uncompetitive with the world markets.

I think we are very sympathetic with the whole agricultural industry.

Especially the grains industry has taken a real hit and all of the other commodities have also.

It's a lot to do with the Canadian dollar, has taken a lot out of the price of our commodities so I think there's a bigger picture here but we need to group together as an ag industry and work together at finding a solution to our problem.

I think there's a lot of support programs around the world that we're not able to keep up with here in Canada.

I guess you've got to look at the world prices.

The world prices are depressed and that's something that we have to deal with so I think a lot of it has to be done through the WTO trade negotiations.

Kynoch says his organization looks forward to working with the federal Minister of Agriculture, corn growers and all farmers to find effective and predictable long-term solutions to the challenges facing Canadian agriculture.

For Farmscape.Ca. I'm Bruce Cochrane.

       *Farmscape is a presentation of Sask Pork and Manitoba Pork Council