Minister MacAulay Promotes Agricultural Trade at NASDA Annual Meeting

The Government of Canada is working closely with all levels of government in the U.S. to strengthen our robust agricultural partnership and to ensure continued support for millions of trade-dependent middle-class jobs on both sides of the border

In support of these efforts, Lawrence MacAulay, Minister of Agriculture and Agri-Food, travelled this week to New Orleans, Louisiana to deliver a keynote address at the U.S. National Association of State Departments of Agriculture (NASDA) Annual Meeting.

“Agricultural trade plays an important role in the economies of Canada and the United States”

 

During his address, Minister MacAulay highlighted the more than $62 billion (CAD) in agriculture and agri-food products that crossed the Canada-U.S. border in 2016. Canada and the U.S. are each other’s largest trade partners for agriculture and agri-food, with bilateral agriculture trade reaching $62 billion (CAD) ($47 billion (USD)) in 2016. That makes Canada the top agriculture and agri-food export market for 29 U.S. states, and supporting millions of middle class jobs on both sides of the border.

The Minister also emphasized that 29 U.S. states count Canada as their top agriculture and agri-food export market.

“Canada and the United States benefit from a strong, integrated and balanced agricultural trading partnership that delivers high-quality foods and supports millions of middle-class jobs on both sides of our border,” MacAulay said. “North American agricultural trade has quadrupled since the mid-1990s, and we are working closely with representatives at all levels of the U.S. government to ensure that our agriculture and agri-food sectors continue to prosper.”

While in New Orleans, Minister MacAulay met with State Secretary of Agriculture Bill Northey (Iowa), and State Commissioners of Agriculture Mike Strain (Louisiana) and Steven Reviczky (Connecticut). Minister MacAulay also toured the Canadian National Railway facilities at the Port of New Orleans, met with the Mayor of New Orleans, Mitch Landrieu, and discussed opportunities for agricultural trade with local industry representatives.