The delivered text is the official version Good afternoon. It s a pleasure to be here.
Agricultural trade is extremely important to Canada.
We have vast, fertile lands and knowledgeable, efficient producers and processors but a population of only 30 million people. In agricultural terms, we re the third largest exporter in the world and the fifth largest importer. We sold more than 21 billion dollars worth of agricultural products last year. So it should come as no surprise that an important theme of our initial negotiating position in the World Trade Organization negotiations a position arrived at through two years of consultations is to level the international playing field by reducing the disparities in support and protection among producers in different countries. Over the past decade, Canada has eliminated all its export subsidies and moved toward non-distorting forms of support.