Prairie grain and pulse crop producers expect to gain from Canada’s signature Nov. 21 on a free trade agreement (FTA) with Colombia.
The Canadian Wheat Board is now urging Parliament to ratify the deal and secure Canada’s $100 million wheat market worth of wheat and $23 million of malting barley to Colombia each year. According to Pulse Canada, Colombia and Peru combined are a $70 million market for Canadian pulses.
The South American nation currently maintains an average applied tariff of 16.6 per cent on Canadian agricultural products, the federal government said.
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For Canadian pork exports, for example, this FTA will set a 5,000-tonne tariff-rate quota (TRQ), which will then increase annually, while Colombia’s in-quota tariff is eliminated over the first five years of the FTA’s implementation, according to the Canadian Pork Council.
The federal government said Canada will exclude its own over-access tariffs on supply-managed products (eggs, dairy, poultry) from tariff cuts under this deal.
Wheat, barley and lentils are currently among Canada’s main exports to Colombia, along with newsprint (paper) and off-road dump trucks. Colombia’s top exports to Canada include coffee, bananas, coal and fuel.
Tariffs on Canada’s non-agricultural exports to Colombia will be eliminated when the deal is ratified.
