The Philippines and Canada agreed to strengthen ties in fishery, high value crops, livestock safety, food security and free trade, during a meeting between Agriculture Secretary Francisco Tiu Laurel Jr. and Canada’s Agriculture and Agri-Food Minister Heath MacDonald, the Philippine Department of Agriculture said.
Tiu Laurel and MacDonald met last August 3 as part of a renewed push to elevate Philippine-Canada agri-fishery trade and technical collaboration and cooperation, the DA said in a statement on Monday, August 11.
Both leaders underscored the growing bilateral agri-fishery trade that reached a cumulative $2.39 billion between 2020 and 2024, the DA said.
Tiu Laurel pointed out that yearly agricultural trade between the two countries rose from $327 million in 2020 to a peak of $568 million in 2022. “Canada remains a vital partner in supporting our vision for a more globally competitive agriculture sector,” the DA chief said.
Tiu Laurel added that the Philippines’ agri-fishery exports to Canada grew from $109 million in 2020 to $148 million in 2024, which was considered the strongest performance in five years.
The DA said the meeting tackled other areas of mutual interest such as high-value crops, African Swine Fever response, food security, and free trade negotiations.
Tiu Laurel and MacDonald also discussed the ongoing Asean-Canada Free Trade Agreement talks and raised the prospect of a bilateral free trade agreement to broaden market access and diversification.
Meanwhile, the DA said the meeting resulted in the signing of a joint statement on the technical collaboration between the Philippine DA’s Bureau of Plant Industry and the Canadian Food Inspection Agency.
The agreement will focus on plant health, capacity building, scientific and regulatory advancement, and the exchange of innovations to boost productivity, the DA explained.
The meeting between the two leaders served as “a pivotal step forward” in bolstering Philippine-Canada agri-relations, to enhance trade and empower farmers, fisherfolk, and food producers across both nations, the DA said.
