Farmscape for August 28, 2018

The Chair of Sask Pork is urging the federal government to move forward with ratification and implementation of the Comprehensive Progressive Trans-Pacific Partnership as quickly as possible.
The pending ratification of the Comprehensive Progressive Trans-Pacific Partnership and uncertainty over the future of trade within North America has increased the focus of Canadian agriculture on trade issues.
Casey Smit, the Chair of the Saskatchewan Pork Development Board, observes the trade war between the U.S. and China and the ramifications of that have had a negative impact on the hog market at a time of year when producers should be enjoying much higher prices than they are.

Clip- Casey Smit-Saskatchewan Pork Development Board:
I think what's important to know is that, as soon as the TPP is ratified and that we're able to access those markets, that the trade tariffs are decreasing over time.
That puts us at a competitive advantage to a large degree to our main trading partner and our main competitor overseas which is the U.S. market.
That allows the producers or the export markets out of Canada to have a leg up when it comes to getting product into those markets and establishing a long term relationship in those markets that hopefully will grow over time.
I think it's been well established that anybody that's through the door first certainly gets a leg up when it comes to the other countries who have not participated.
I think it's extremely important for the Canadian government to move it forward in the interest of all agricultural producers and other producer groups as a big part of Asia is a huge export market for a lot of different companies coming out of Canada.

Smit says there's a lot of apprehension out there over what the trade tariffs have done to the market but also recognizing there's a lot of pork coming to market as U.S. pork production has expanded tremendously causing a lot of pressure on prices.
For Farmscape.Ca, I'm Bruce Cochrane.

       *Farmscape is a presentation of Sask Pork and Manitoba Pork