The Canadian Pork Council says this country needs to avoid a repeat of the South Korea experience.
That's when the U-S, the European Union and other major competitors secured free trade deals with South Korea before Canada did.
The Council says that cost the Canadian pork sector it's traditional market share in Korea almost immediately.
That was one of the arguments the CPC put forward in urging the federal government to ratify the Trans-Pacific Partnership.
The Council also pointed out over 70 per cent of the industry's output is now exported - with about 80 per cent of that going to countries in the TPP agreement.
And the CPC went even further in it's submission to the House of Commons Standing Committee on International Trade.
It suggested that if the U-S hasn't ratified the TPP by the end of this year, Canada should launch an aggressive strategy to secure favourable trade access with key existing and emerging Asian markets - including Japan, Vietnam and the Philippines .
