Free trade deal might blow up

The free trade deal among Canada, Mexico and the United States is in danger of blowing up.

Canada and Mexico are insisting that President Donald Trump remove the tariffs he placed on steel and aluminum, and that demand has some support among U.S. Senators.

But now Democrats in the House of Representatives want the negotiations to be re-opened the deal with their concerns about labour, pharmaceuticals and the environment.

Canada and Mexico are against re-opening negotiations.

Some are worrying that Trump might get frustrated, throw up his hand, walk away from the deal and serve notice to withdraw from the North American Free Trade Agreement.

It all adds up to new uncertainties that undermine businesses’ confidence in implementing plans that depend on reliable trade terms.

Poultry trade show for Stratford

The company that organizes the Canadian Dairy  XPO at Stratford is now organizing the first poultry show for November next year.

ROI Event Management’s general manager Jordan Underhill said “We are filling a need in the marketplace by bringing high-level, international innovation to Canadian poultry producers.”

CPX will feature:

·     Three major trade show halls with more than 200 poultry-focused exhibiting companies from more than 30 countries;

·     400 foot state-of-the-art Poultry Demo Coliseum with interactive demonstrations showcasing the latest in robotics and innovation;

·     World-class education and knowledge transfer through global speakers, industry experts and producer panels, and

·     Hospitality and networking opportunities for producers and industry.

The inaugural CPX is slated to take place November 4 and 5, 2020, at the Stratford Rotary Complex.

“The highest concentration of commercial poultry production in the country is within a two-hour radius of Stratford,” said Brian Terpstra, business manager at Trouw Nutrition Canada (Nutreco Shur-Gain), a CPX founding partner.

“We’re pleased that CPX will launch in the heart of poultry country, at a proven rural location and during a time of year that doesn’t conflict with major on-farm activities.”

                                    

Mizythra on recall

Testing by the Canadian Food Inspection agency has prompted MFG Distribution Inc. to issue a recall for its Oreinos Mylopotamos brand Cretan Dry Mizythra because of possible Listeria monocytogenes contamination.

The CFIA said there have been no reports of illnesses traced to the product, which is a traditional unpasteurized Greek cheese.

China-U.S. trade talks ongoing

Chinese negotiators will be in Washington, D.C., next week to continue trade talks with the United States.

Not much has been said about the negotiations last week in China, other than there was progress.

The Chinese have also made a large purchase of U.S. pork and more soybeans.

On the other hand, farmers and the food industry are worried by President Donald Trumps musings about closing the border with Mexico. That would stop imports of fruits and vegetables and exports of corn, soybeans and pork.

Great weather – for maple syrup

Maple syrup producers in Southwestern Ontario are having a great season.

The sap has been flowing steadily since the middle of March as temperatures dipped below freezing over night and rose nicely above freezing during daylight hours.

Two producers in the Waterloo Region told the local newspaper that the sugar content this year has been well above average, so they anticipate bumper, if not record, yields this spring.

And then came the snow again, prolonging the season.

By the time it is spring on more than the calendar, it seems likely that records will be broken.

Canola group to push for trade with China

Agriculture Minister Marie-Claude Bibeau and International Trade Diversification Minister Jim Carr said Monday that they have set up a working group to try to persuade China to resume purchasing canola from Canada.

The group includes representatives from the Canola Council of Canada, the Canadian Canola Growers Association, Richardson International, Viterra, and the federal, Alberta, Manitoba, and Saskatchewan governments.

Bibeau said the group approach “will ensure a co-ordinated and collaborative approach towards resolving this market access issue” and will “explore alternative markets, both for the short and long term.”

Canola exporters said they began facing customs clearance problems several months ago, but matters grew considerably worse last month when China cancelled the canola export registrations for Canadian grain handlers Richardson International and Viterra.

Not long after the block on Richardson was made public, the Canola Council said China’s block appeared to be in place on shipments from all Canadian exporters.

Following up on Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s statement last week that Canada would look at sending a technical delegation to China to pursue the matter, Bibeau said Monday she has written her Chinese counterpart, Han Changfu, and requested to send such a delegation.

The delegation, Bibeau said, would be led by Dr. Siddika Mithani, president of the Canadian Food Inspection Agency and would include CFIA’s team of plant health experts “and the support of technical experts from the Prairie provinces.”

Bibeau said federal plant health experts “are engaged and exchanging technical information with Customs China, who have agreed to continue discussions in the near future.”

Resolving the China export issue is “essential for our farmers and their families, for our agricultural industry and communities, and for the Canadian economy as a whole,” Carr said.

“If there is a problem with our shipments, show us the science, so our skilled and dedicated industry leaders may rectify it.”

Carr said Canada is pursuing new markets via in the U.S. and Mexico, the European Union and the Trans-Pacific Partnership countries, and by “initiating discussions” with the ASEAN bloc in Southeast Asia, which also includes Indonesia.

Emerald Ash borers leap East

The Emerald Ash borer infestation that began in 2002 and slowly spread across Ontario and then into Quebec has made a big leap to Bedford, N.S.

The Canadian Food Inspection Agency has imposed restrictions on moving any wood out of Halifax County in an effort to contain that infestation.

Before this discovery, the furthest east the pest had been found was in Western New Brunswick.

The insects have left a tragic landscape of dead ash trees all across most of Ontario and Southern Quebec.