Canadian officials led by Agriculture and Agri-Food Minister Lawrence MacAualy wrapped up a week long mission to China.
The goal was to promote Canadian products and ways to strengthen trade.
China has a population of 1.4 billion and a growing middle class.
Minister MacAulay met with his counterpart, Minister of Agriculture and Rural Affairs, Han Changfu and the two ministers discussed key trade issues, including agricultural cooperation and biotechnology products.
Minister MacAulay advocated for China's approval of three new genetically modified canola traits, which would increase canola exports to China by an estimated $400 million every year, using the same amount of land and inputs – a major increase for canola productivity.
"China is an important and growing market, representing Canada's second largest trade partner is agriculture and food," said MacAualy. "This mission has been a great opportunity to showcase Canada's high-quality food and seafood, and to strengthen our trade ties, which are of vital importance to diversifying markets for our agricultural products and to growing the middle class."
As part of a pilot project agreed to by both countries in 2017, the first Canadian shipment of chilled pork was exported to China this month.
Seventeen Canadian federally registered meat establishments are now eligible to export chilled beef derived from cattle under-thirty-months of age and/or chilled pork to China.
The Canadian meat industry estimates the increased export values from this expansion of Canada's meat access to China, could be worth upwards of $100 million for pork and $125 million for beef over the next five years.
