(OTTAWA) – The Canadian Federation of Agriculture (CFA) is disappointed with today’s announcement by World Trade Organization (WTO) Director General Pascal Lamy that the Doha Round negotiations have effectively collapsed because of a failure to move forward on agriculture talks.

“A successful WTO agreement is a key piece of the puzzle for building the future of the Canadian agriculture industry,” said Bob Friesen, CFA President. “Canada’s farmers had high hopes of achieving a positive outcome with this WTO round.”

According to Lamy, the WTO talks have been indefinitely suspended as a result of the failure of the G6 countries  to give any ground on significantly reducing trade-distorting subsidies and expanding market access. Both these issues are critical for Canada’s agricultural industry.

Lamy has not indicated when he envisions resuming negotiations. Even though the official talks have been suspended CFA urges the Canadian government and Canadian negotiators to keep working on finding solutions by building partnerships with other countries.

“Canadian farmers need a new world trade agreement that lays down fair and equitable rules for agricultural trade,” said Friesen. “Whether the talks are suspended or not, our trade officials should keep building partnerships and promoting Canada’s negotiating position with other countries in order to ultimately achieve a successful outcome for our farmers.”

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Founded in 1935 to provide Canada's farmers with a single voice in Ottawa, the Canadian Federation of Agriculture is the country's largest farmers' organization. Its members include provincial general farm organizations as well as national and inter-provincial commodity organizations from every province. Through its members, CFA represents over 200,000 Canadian farmers and farm families.