CWB goes into bat for Canadian farmers at WTO symposium

CWB goes into bat for Canadian farmers at WTO symposium    The Canadian Wheat Board said its will attend next week’s World Trade Organization Symposium in Geneva, to lobby for Canadian farmers’ right to choose and use marketing systems they prefer.
   The CWB said that under a framework deal ratified last summer, western Canadian producers stand to lose their government guarantees of CWB payments and borrowings, if a final WTO agreement is reached. The CWB are also concerned by the text of the deal which specifies that “future use of monopoly powers” be further negotiated.
   “This is not something for our competitors to decide,” said Ken Ritter, CWB chairman. “Global trade distortions are the only issues that belong on the table at the WTO. The CWB’s single-desk authority is not trade-distorting and WTO members need to understand that fact. Canadian farmers are already making huge concessions in the interests of fair international trade.”
   Ritter, along with farmer-elected CWB director Larry Hill and a CWB staff member, will be in Geneva from April 18 to 22.