Canada-China Relations committee  I will bring it back to what Mr. Carey was saying about our infrastructure. Reliability is a key element of the relationship, because the buyers need to know the product is going to arrive. If you can't meet a timeline, it's going to hurt your credibility.

Canada-China Relations committee  Can I just add...? In any market there are questions of political and regulatory risk. The office, I think, is going to play a key role in managing regulatory risk, in particular, with the regulatory authorities in those countries, but it's also useful in terms of political risk because it helps show a commitment to our relations with those countries in the agri-food sector.

Canada-China Relations committee  I would just add that these are quickly growing markets, and our competitors are there. Australia has an agreement with these countries.

Canada-China Relations committee  For people who sell products, it's true that those are risks to be managed. There are business opportunities and there are growth opportunities. We look for growth opportunities, but we have to analyze the situation based on risk, including political risk and infrastructure risk, such as trouble at the ports.

Canada-China Relations committee  I know less about that than my colleagues, I believe.

Canada-China Relations committee  The way I see it is that China is a market that's too large to replace exactly. We're not the only ones dealing with this issue. If you look at our agri-food competitors who are also our national security allies, like the United States and Australia, they are dealing with similar issues.

Canada-China Relations committee  Yes.

Canada-China Relations committee  The main reason the market is increasing is that the number of people on the planet is increasing and the number of people on the planet who are eating better, who have moved into the middle class, are moving into the middle class or are moving up the chain is increasing. As was mentioned, there's a lot more protein but more calories in general and higher-quality calories.

Canada-China Relations committee  After leaving Canada, it would be by ship.

Canada-China Relations committee  Mr. Carey is working more on ports on a daily basis that I am.

Canada-China Relations committee  Good evening. Thank you to the committee members for inviting me here tonight. The Canadian Agri-Food Trade Alliance is a coalition of national organizations that advocate for a freer and fairer international trading environment for the agriculture and agri-food sector. I will skip a few paragraphs for the time.

International Trade committee  No.

International Trade committee  I think what I'd say is that the trade agreement might not have the same level of ambition that you have with more developed markets like the United States or Europe. Maybe some of those countries have capacity issues that can make it difficult to have a trade agreement of the same style that one has with Europe.

International Trade committee  I believe that the Senate in France did not ratify the agreement because of elements of French domestic policy, which I really cannot explain for lack of knowledge. Following that non‑ratification, we received a briefing from the Canadian government, which explained how the embassy there understood the situation.

International Trade committee  As you said, relationship building, especially in cultures in the Indo-Pacific, which are relationship-based rather than transaction-based.... When these team Canada missions take place, we always have several CAFTA members joining, which shows that they see the value in them.