More cash needed for trade offices: farm group
WINNIPEG — Canadian politicians like to say that “we” need to diversify trade away from the United States and “we” should export more products to Southeast Asia.
That sort of language doesn’t impress Ryan Cardwell.
Governments don’t trade with other nations, says the University of Manitoba agricultural economist. An individual business in Calgary or Vancouver sells products to customers in other countries, not the federal government in Ottawa.
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Kyle Larkin, executive director of the Grain Growers of Canada, agrees with Cardwell’s comment — somewhat.
If there were no barriers to trade, market forces would dictate where products were bought and sold. Goods would flow freely around the globe because individual companies could sell their products anywhere.
However, we don’t live in an ideal world.
Canada’s government needs to employ people to reduce barriers to trade and help with market access for Canadian businesses, especially in countries in Southeast Asia with rapidly growing economies, such as Vietnam, Indonesia and the Philippines.
“When we’re talking about trade diversification with the government, we’re talking about having boots on the ground,” said Larkin, one week before the April 28 federal election.
“Open up different markets through international relations.”
In February 2024, the federal government opened an agriculture and agri-food office in Manila to expand exports in the Indo-Pacific.
Larkin and many others praised the government’s investment.
“The Canadian Food Exporters Association is thrilled that there will be a dedicated office in the Indo-Pacific region to assist Canadian agri-food companies,” said president Susan Powell.
More offices in Southeast Asia are needed because other exporting nations are competing with Canada for agri-food market share in the region, Larkin said.
“The USDA has had officials in almost every country in Asia-Pacific for decades. We are way behind the eight ball,” he said.
“I can tell you that the Brazilians and Australians and other countries … are even more aggressive than Canada in some of these markets.”
One advantage that Canada has is the incredible diversity of people across the country. There are large populations of Filipinos, Vietnamese, Bangladeshi and many other cultural groups who could be deployed to build trading relationships with Southeast Asia.
“Some of the diaspora communities have those natural connections, back to their (first) country,” Larkin said.
“When you look at a country like Brazil, it’s a lot more monolithic than the diversity we see across Canada.… It’s a natural advantage to Canada.”
Still, money matters.
If the U.S. Department of Agriculture is investing $1 billion on offices and staff in Southeast Asia and Canada is spending $30 million, it’s hard to compete.
More spending on promotion and reducing barriers to agricultural trade comes down to priorities.
The previous federal government did open an office in Manila, but Agriculture Canada also cut spending on international and domestic markets.
In 2021-22, the department spent $885 million on markets, says an Agriculture Canada strategic plan. In 2023-24, it had forecasted spending of $811 million, an 8.4 per cent cut to international and domestic markets.
Contact robert.arnason@producer.com
Source: www.producer.com