Canadian Meat Industry Applauds Signature of the Canada-Korea Free Trade Agreement
From SoyaTech
The Canadian meat industry applauds the signature of the historic Canada-Korea Free Trade Agreement (CKFTA). The CKFTA was signed in Ottawa by Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper and Korean President Park Geun-Hye.
“The Canadian meat industry has been looking forward to this crucial day for many years,” said Canadian Meat Council President Henry Mizrahi.
“Korea is one the most important meat importers in the world, but Canadian exporters have been falling behind since our competitors signed free trade agreements with that country,” said Canadian Meat Council Executive Director Jim Laws. “Every month that implementation of the Canada-Korea Free Trade Agreement is delayed, the greater the negative impact will be for Canadian livestock farmers and meat processors,” added Laws.
Characterized by an economy that ranks fifteenth in the world, a population of 50 million mostly middle income consumers, and an import demand that exceeds $2 billion for beef and pork products annually, the South Korean market is highly coveted by all of the globe’s major meat exporting nations.
For countries without trade agreements, South Korean import tariffs are 40 per cent for chilled and frozen beef, 22.5 per cent for chilled pork and 25 per cent for frozen pork. In the case of countries with free trade agreements, these tariffs are reduced progressively until they reach zero.