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Ireland is the number one destination for maize from the Canadian province of Ontario, with close to 600,000t shipped to date three-quarters of the way through the 2018/2019 crop year.
From September 2018 until May 2019, some 593,000t was shipped to Ireland. This is already an increase on the 501,000t shipped from September 2017 until August 2018.
So far, Ireland has accounted for 56% of all maize exports from Ontario, with Spain taking 21% and the UK taking 18%. Last year just 34% of Ontarian maize was shipped to Ireland.
Shift
The profile of maize exports from Ontario has shifted dramatically since 2015. Speaking to the Irish Farmers Journal, Justin Shepard of the Grain Farmers of Ontario said the signing of a free-trade agreement between Canada and the EU has been the major driver of this change.
Shepard said the agreement has facilitated an increase in the volume of maize shipped to the EU. Known as CETA, it entered into force in 2017. Prior to this approximately 60% of all Ontarian maize was shipped to the US. This has since fallen to just 25% last year.
Shepard said: “It has been a couple years since it [CETA] is in full effect. In Ontario we are big believers of free and open trade.
“Whether it is importing EU goods or being able to ship to other markets that are asking for our goods, it is important to have access to markets across the world if we do have excess crops.”
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