Canada's poultry import regime

Tariff Rate Quotas ( TRQs )

Canada's poultry and eggs industry operates under an orderly marketing system which is designed to match the supply with the demand. An effective supply management system requires the ability to determine supply from all sources, domestic as well as international.

Canada is a signatory of the World Trade Organization ( WTO ) Agreement on Agriculture which was concluded in December 1993 and came into effect on January 1, 1995. Following this agreement, Canada is obliged to convert its existing agricultural quantitative import controls to a system of TRQs .

TRQs determine the quantity and the tariff at which a specific agricultural product is imported into a country. U.S. -specific TRQs were established under the Canada-United States-Mexico Agreement ( CUSMA ) for chicken and eggs in addition to the global WTO TRQs for these products. Canada's global market access level for turkey and for broiler hatching eggs and chicks is the greater of its commitment under the WTO or under the CUSMA . In addition, the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership ( CPTPP ) provides TRQs specific to CPTPP member countries.

The following table presents Canada's access commitments and 2022 TRQ levels under the WTO , CUSMA , and CPTPP for the four categories of poultry and egg products that are subject to TRQs in Canada:

Canada's 2022 Tariff Rate Quotas ( TRQs ), by category of poultry and egg products.
Product WTO CUSMA CPTPP
Hatching eggs & chicks 7,949,000 dozen eggs equivalent [1] 833,333 dozen eggs equivalent
Chicken 39,843,700 kg eviscerated 51,000,000 kg eviscerated 19,583,000 kg eviscerated
Turkey 5,588,000 kg eviscerated [2] 2,917,000 kg eviscerated
Eggs & egg products 21,370,000 dozen eggs equivalent 5,000,000 dozen eggs equivalent 13,916,667 dozen eggs equivalent
Source: Global Affairs Canada
Compiled by Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada, Animal Industry Division, Market Information Section.
[1] 7,949,000 dozen eggs equivalent or 21.1% of anticipated current year's production, whichever is greater.
[2] 5,588,000 kg eviscerated or 3.5% of previous year's production, whichever is greater.

Tariffs on imports

Under the Tariff Rate Quotas ( TRQs ), imports are subject to low "within access commitment" rates of duty up to a predetermined limit (i.e. until the import access quantity has been reached), while imports over this limit are subject to significantly higher "over access commitment" rates of duty. The Canada Border Services Agency is responsible for tariff administration.

Global Affairs Canada information on Supply-managed tariff rate quotas ( TRQs )

Global Affairs Canada has the authority to allocate TRQs s to importers. For most products, the privilege to import at the "within access commitment" rates of duty is allocated to firms through the issuance of import allocations or quota-shares. Those with quota-shares will, upon application, receive specific import permits giving access to the "within access commitment" rates of duty as long as they meet the terms and conditions of permit issuance. These conditions, along with other information on TRQs s, such as quota holders list and utilization data, are available on Global Affairs Canada's website - Supply-managed tariff rate quotas (TRQs).

Other requirements (sanitary, etc.)

Depending on the product imported, its country of origin and its end-use, the import can be subject to other regulations and policies, notably with regards to food safety. The Canadian Food Inspection Agency Automated Import Reference System provides accurate and timely information on import requirements. The application uses a question and answer approach to guide the user through a series of questions about the Harmonized System Codes, origin, destination, end use and miscellaneous qualifiers of the product they wish to import.

 

If you have any questions or require additional information, please send an e-mail to aafc.poultry-volaille.aac@agr.gc.ca

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