The Rural Voice, 1985-01, Page 6The
Challenge
of
Exporting
The destiny of Ontario
agriculture is linked with
exports, and with policies in the
U.S.
Competition, trade barriers, and
transportation costs are some of
the factors that affect that
destiny.
by
Phyllis
Coulter
4 THE RURAL VOICE
perhaps the biggest interna-
tional competition of all is not
the Olympics, but the export
market. Countries around the world
send some of their best trained indi-
viduals on trade missions to promote
the products of their nation. The
equivalent in prestige to a gold medal
is awarded to the competitor who can
jump trade barriers and come home
gloriously with increased exports.
Exporting, however, is not a game.
It's big business. Ontario does its
greatest amount of export business
with the United States, says Michael
Loh, OMAF Market Development
Specialist (Export). The United States
is also a tough competitor in the ex-
port market. At the annual OMAF
Agri -Food Look Ahead conference
held in October of 1984, it was ob-
vious that the destiny of agriculture in
Ontario is linked with export. It was
equally clear that the destiny of agri-
culture in Ontario is closely linked
with that of the United States.
Speaking at the conference in
Toronto, Paul Weller, President of
Agri -Washington (an agricultural
public affairs counselling firm based
in Washington, D.C.) predicted that
there will be big changes in U.S.
policy in 1985.
Those involved in shaping the
policies of U.S. agriculture are
preparing for the most challenging
policy year in recent history. "The
year of decision, 1985, promises an
exhaustive review and debate of cu --
rent farm and commodity policy as
the U.S. moves to replace fartn
legislation that expires in Septembe-
30, 1985," Weller explains. The
debate officially opens in Januar.
with the convening of the U.S. Con
gress, but it actually started nearly
one year ago when both public and
private sectors laid the groundwork
for the most extensive review of
America's $1 -trillion agricultural in-
dustry ever undertaken.
Policy makers faced a double-
edged sword. Over production
prompted the spending of nearly $20
billion to pull 82 -million acres of
crops out of production, but at the
same time children were starving in
developing countries. A second con-
tradiction was their advocating of
free trade so that U.S. wheat, soy-
beans and cotton crops could be ex-
ported while Congress was passing a
protectionist trade bill and the
Secretary of Agriculture was having
talks with Canadians in an attempt to
reduce Canadian pork exports to the
U.S.
Increasing trade barriers are one of