A trade expert and Executive Director of the Canadian Pork Council says Canada is exports about two-thirds of its pork production.
But Martin Rice told Huron and Perth Pork producers at their annual meeting last night there are still some trade barriers that have to be removed, specifically in South America and some Asian countries.
Rice adds the low Canadian dollar is helping that process right now.
He says Canada became a little too dependent on the Russian market a few years ago and there is some concern about dependency on the Chinese market.
An ideal situation, according to Rice, would be to have as many as fifteen third markets behind the U-S and Japan so that if any one market dried up others could pick up the slack.
He also points to Europe as a major market for pork but one Canada has so far not been able to penetrate.
Rice adds the Central European Trade Agreement and Trans Pacific Partnership agreements are two major trade agreements for Canada and they're have a major impact on Canada's exports.
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Martin Rice says while Canadian producers always have to be exploring new markets, we also have to pick our partners carefully.
[audio mp3="http://blackburnnews.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/01/RICE-Mkts-1.mp3"][/audio]
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Rice points out there is a danger in relying too heavily on one market.
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Rice points out there is one major market Canada has yet to penetrate.
[audio mp3="http://blackburnnews.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/01/RICE-Mkts-3.mp3"][/audio]
