WHJ-Winter2012

Industry Viewpoint Continued
Karl Kynoch, Chair of Manitoba Pork, commented that
“the impact of the COOL measure on Manitoba exports of
weanlings was immediate and dramatic. From 2007 to 2010,
weanling exports declined 30% in volume and at least $5-10
per animal in value.” US feeders had to cope with extra record
keeping and administrative costs when using Canadian piglets
and feeder animals. “This, combined with retailers’ decisions
to sell only pork from animals born, bred and slaughtered
in the USA, had a devastating impact on Manitoba hog
producers,” Kynoch says. “The Panel has found that these
additional recordkeeping requirements are inconsistent with
US WTO obligations.”
COOL has been as unpopular with the US pork industry as
it has in Canada because it interrupted mutually beneficial
trade that had built up over many years. American Meat
Institute President J. Patrick Boyle said that the ruling was
not surprising. “We’ve contended for years in statements,
letters and comments that this law was not just costly and
cumbersome, but a violation of our country’s WTO obligations.
Given the industry’s export exposure, it was a key argument
and concern that we expressed in a 2010 letter to the US Trade
Representative,” he said.
Korea – US Free Trade agreement
disadvantages Canada
Ratification of the Korea - US Free Trade Agreement by the
Korean National Assembly will place Canada at a disadvantage
in future unless the federal government is able to broker a
similar deal. Tariffs on US beef imported by Korea will drop
from 40 percent to zero over 15 years, and duties on US pork,
which range from 22.5 percent to 25 percent, will be phased
out over two years starting January 1, 2014.
The Canadian Pork Council (CPC) has called on the Federal
Government to resume negotiations, pointing out that the
concerns which led to suspension of negotiations in 2008
have been resolved or addressed in the Korea - US Free
Trade Agreement.
www.thelongarm.ca
18 | Western Hog Journal | Winter 2012
“The negotiations with Korea have been stalled since 2008,”
said Canada Pork International Chairman Edouard Asnong.
“Canada is the second largest exporter of pork to Korea and
expects to ship $300 million of pork products mostly from
Quebec, Manitoba and Alberta.”
The pork industry is concerned that competitors like Chile
and the EU who already have an FTA with South Korea enjoy
preferential access and that it will completely push Canadian
pork out of a key market.
“By 2016, the US will have no duty on chilled and frozen
pork while we will pay 22.5% and 25.0% respectively,
says Richard Davies, Executive Vice President, Sales and
Marketing at Olymel. “Even though the full reductions will
not occur immediately, they will cumulate quickly. With this
disadvantage our Korean business will be gone within two
years.”
“Negotiations with Korea must be resumed,” argues Barry
Sutton, Vice President of Maple Leaf Foods. “The pork
export sector was not pleased with the Korean offers in
2007. Nor were our US counterparts but they continued their
negotiations until US pork received a better deal. We are
asking the Government of Canada to stand up for our interests
in the South Korea market.”
Battle lines drawn as EU partial sow
stall ban approaches
With barely 12 months to go before the EU partial stall
ban comes into force, battle lines are being drawn as those
countries which have completed the move to group housing
confront those which are likely to miss the deadline. The
EU legislation, which comes into force on January 1st, 2013,
prohibits the use of stalls during gestation except for a period
of 28 days after breeding. The law was passed in 1999, giving
producers 12 years to comply.
“Nobody knows how many European producers will fail to
convert to loose housing by January 2013, but the evidence
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