Farmscape for February 8, 2019

Pork producers on both sides of the Canada-U.S. border are encouraging the United States to join the Comprehensive Progressive Trans-Pacific Partnership.
Top of mind issues this week, as a delegation representing Manitoba Pork travelled to Minneapolis to take part in the 2019 Minnesota Pork Congress and meet with their U.S. counterparts and U.S. government officials, included the prevention of the entry of African Swine Fever and trade.
George Matheson, the Chair of Manitoba Pork, says in regards to trade the hope is that tensions between the U.S. and Mexico can be resolved and that the U.S. will join the CPTPP.

Clip-George Matheson-Manitoba Pork:
The U.S. has a tariff against their pork exports to Mexico in retaliation for tariffs on imports on steel from Mexico.
What happens for the Canadian producer is that, for most, the price they take is the U.S. national price so if the U.S. has free trade and that increases their prices and that, in turn will increase Canadian producers' prices so we're hoping that they resolve that as soon as possible and, as I mentioned, become part of the bigger Trans-Pacific Partnership because more trade, more exports from the U.S. will increase their price and, in turn increase our price.
The other side of the coin would be our processors.
Although they right now can take advantage of diminishing tariffs against exports, as I mentioned, our price comes from the U.S. national price so it's not a made in Canada price that comes from our processors.

Matheson says in the end it is important for Canadian processors to be able to take advantage of the tariff reductions the CPTPP will provide but, because of the influence of the U.S. price on the Canadian price, it's equally important for the U.S. to participate.
For Farmscape.Ca, I'm Bruce Cochrane.

       *Farmscape is a presentation of Sask Pork and Manitoba Pork