OTTAWA, ON, June 20, 2023 /CNW/ - The Honourable Marie-Claude Bibeau, Minister of Agriculture and Agri-Food today concluded a successful mission to India where she took part in the G20 Agriculture Ministers' Meeting and met with her international counterparts, senior officials, and Canadian and Indian agriculture stakeholders.
Throughout her participation at the G20 Agriculture Ministers' meeting, Minister Bibeau reaffirmed Canada's commitment to remain a reliable source of safe, high-quality agri-food products to the world, and shared Canada's views on the importance of achieving more sustainable, resilient and inclusive agri-food systems. She congratulated India on their G20 presidency and facilitating important dialogues and also committed to strengthening the bilateral relationship with this vital partner in the Indo-Pacific. Minister Bibeau joined other delegates in condemning Russia's illegal, unjustifiable and unprovoked invasion of Ukraine, and reaffirmed Canada's commitment to working with our close trade partners to coordinate responses to the impact of war on global food security and market stability.
At the G20, Minister Bibeau met bilaterally with her Indian counterpart, Minister of Agriculture and Farmers' Welfare of India, Narendra Singh Tomar. During the meeting, Minister Bibeau reiterated Canada's commitment to working with India to enhance our agricultural partnership and to collaboratively address broader issues, such as global food security and climate change. Minister Bibeau expressed her optimism in achieving a successful trade agreement that will help both countries meet evolving market needs and grow and diversify their high-quality agricultural and food products. Minister Bibeau also conducted a series of bilateral meetings and discussions with the United Kingdom, Japan, Vietnam, the United Arab Emirates and several others.
During her outreach in India, Minister Bibeau visited an Ag Tech start-up that is led and managed by over 700 farmers. During her visit, they discussed Canadian company Clean Seed Capital's SMART seeder technology. The company has been conducting field trials in the State of Punjab and the State of Haryana, with new seeding technology that could bring a paradigm shift to farming in India through innovation. Minister Bibeau also met with a range of agricultural stakeholders hosted by the Confederation of Indian Industry – Food and Agriculture Centre of Excellence to discuss challenges and opportunities for Canadian agriculture and agri-food exports. She also met bilaterally with Indian Minister of Animal Husbandry, and Dairying, Parshottam Rupala, and Minister of Consumer Affairs and Commerce and Industry, Piyush Goyal, to promote Canada's high-quality agriculture products and discuss the ways the two countries can cooperate on trade, research and advancing each other's market access priorities and ensuring market predictability.
To conclude her mission to India, Minister Bibeau visited McCain Foods India, where she learned more about how this Canadian company engages in research and development of the frozen food market in India and the countries of the subcontinent. She finally visited Heads Up For Tails, a pet supply store that recently started importing Canadian petfood products.
"We are dedicated to building on our important relationship with India, a country that shares our deep commitment to the agricultural sector and a profound attachment to its history. Harvesting our trade partnership with India, particularly in the pulse sector is key to improving sustainability, bolstering supply chains, and enhancing food security around the world."
- The Honourable Marie-Claude Bibeau, Minister of Agriculture and Agri-Food
- The G20 is the primary forum for international economic cooperation. Its members include the world's major developed and emerging economies and represent all inhabited continents. According to the International Monetary Fund, in 2022, G20 members accounted for over 80 per cent of world GDP, roughly 75 per cent of global trade, and over 60 per cent of the world's population.
- India is the world's most populous country and the fifth largest economy.
- In 2022, Canada exported $454.3 million worth of agricultural and seafood products to India.
- The Indo-Pacific encompasses 40 countries and economies: Australia, Bangladesh, Bhutan, Brunei, Cambodia, China, South Korea, India, Indonesia, Japan, Laos, Malaysia, Maldives, Mongolia, Myanmar, Nepal, New Zealand, North Korea, Pacific Island Countries (14), Pakistan, Philippines, Singapore, Sri Lanka, Taiwan, Thailand, Timor Leste, and Vietnam.
- The Indo-Pacific is likely to make up two-thirds of the middle class by 2030, and over half of global GDP by 2040.
Backgrounder
Minister Bibeau's Outreach in India
The Honourable Marie-Claude Bibeau, Minister of Agriculture and Agri-Food, traveled to India (June 15-19) to attend the G20 Agriculture Ministers' Meeting, advance market access priorities, promote Canada's safe, high-quality agrifood and seafood products, and enhance collaboration with key global partners in the Indo-Pacific on issues such as food security, environmental sustainability, and resilient food chains.
Itinerary
Thursday, June 15, 2023
Outreach in Hyderabad
Minister Bibeau began her mission by meeting with representatives of the International Crops Research Institute for the Semi-Arid Tropics (ICRISAT), an international, non-profit organization, to discuss innovative agricultural research in sustainability, climate change and food security. She then visited WE Hub, India's first state led-organization for women entrepreneurs, with the goal of enabling women to start, sustain and scale businesses.
Friday, June 16, 2023 – Saturday, June 17, 2023
G20 Agricultural Ministers' Meeting
On Friday, Minister Bibeau participated in the G20 Agriculture Ministers' Meeting where she attended a plenary session and engaged in international dialogue with her counterparts on important issues impacting the agriculture sector, such as food security, sustainability and resilience of agri-food systems, and open and rules-based trade. Minister Bibeau took the opportunity to reiterate Canada's strong condemnation of Russia's war in Ukraine and its consequences on global food and energy security and make clear that Canada will stand by and support Ukraine as long as it takes. The Minister then attended an expert panel discussion on the importance of including women and youth in agriculture, where she highlighted the measures that Canada has put in place to ensure a greater participation of these two segments of the population, along with Indigenous Peoples and other underrepresented groups.
At the G20, Minister Bibeau met bilaterally with her Indian counterpart, Minister of Agriculture and Farmers' Welfare Narendra Singh Tomar to discuss Canada's market access priorities and enhance agricultural cooperation between the two trading partners. Minister Bibeau also conducted a series of bilateral meetings and discussions with:
- United Kingdom's Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, Thérèse Coffey
- Japan's Minister of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries, Tetsuro Nomura
- Vietnam's Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development, Lê Minh Hoan
- United Arab Emirates Minister of Climate Change and the Environment, H.E. Mariam bint Mohammed Saeed Hareb Almheiri
Saturday, June 17, 2023
Outreach in Hyderabad
On Saturday, Minister Bibeau joined other G20 ministerial delegates for a visit to the Indian Institute of Millets Research (IIMR) in support of the International Year of Millets. The IIMR has state of the art millet research facilities and the Minister had the opportunity to sample millet food products and learn about how these rich sources of protein and antioxidants are impacting nutrition and climate-smart agriculture in India.
Sunday, June 18, 2023
Outreach in the State of Haryana
In Haryana, Minister Bibeau visited Khewra Farmers Producer Company Limited, Ag Tech start-up that is led and managed by over 700 farmers. During the visit, they discussed Canadian company Clean Seed Capital's SMART seeder technology. The company has been conducting field trials in the State of Punjab and the State of Haryana, with new seeding technology that could bring a paradigm shift to farming in India through innovation.
Minister Bibeau met also with Indian Ministers Rupala and Goyal to discuss key priorities for Canada's international agriculture trade relationships, reaffirm the importance of maintaining strong, open and predictable agricultural markets and trade, and explore areas of regulatory cooperation that will facilitate trade and foster collaboration in research and development of agricultural technologies.
Monday, June 19, 2023
Outreach in Delhi
Minister Bibeau also met with a range of agricultural stakeholders including food and commodity importers and processors hosted by the Confederation of Indian Industry – Food and Agriculture Centre of Excellence to discuss challenges and opportunities for Canadian agriculture and agri-food exports. Discussions highlighted many potential opportunities for further partnerships between the two countries in the agriculture sector for mutual benefit and economic gain.
Minister Bibeau also took the time to visit both Canadian and Indian businesses, including McCain Foods India and Heads Up For Tail Pet Store, to gain a better understanding of the market opportunities and challenges in these sectors, so that new pathways can be created for Canadian exporters to do business in India.
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