B.C. grain producers laud ratification of USMCA
Posted December 10, 2019 10:38 am.
Last Updated December 10, 2019 10:43 am.
VANCOUVER (NEWS 1130) – Grain producers in British Columbia are lauding the forward movement in replacing NAFTA.
Representatives from Canada, Mexico and the United States are in Mexico City on Tuesday where they are signing the long-awaited United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement.
BC Grain Producers Association President Rick Kantz says while it remains unclear at this point what impact the USMCA will have on local growers here, any move to create stability in trade with the U.S. is a good step forward.
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“For grain producers in B.C., export is a must. We do definitely have the domestic market in southern B.C. but a lot of our stuff goes to export,” Kantz says, adding he hopes the agreement will help stabilize both trade and commodity prices.
“We produce more than we can eat ourselves in Canada, so we need those outside markets to move our product. I mean, all industries in Canada are that way. We’re an export country and need the stability of a world marketplace.”
The United States is B.C.’s largest export market for agricultural products. In 2017, the province’s farmers exported 77 per cent of their products to the country, in deals worth a combined $1.2 billion.
