Marcin Bosacki, Ambassador of the Republic of Poland to Canada, pictured at CFIA headquarters last week
Canada could be ready to import Polish apples in the near future after one of the country’s leading food safety officials indicated more resources are being allocated to the process of removing trade barriers between the two countries.
Paul Mayers, vice-president of the Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA) met with the Poland’s Ambassador to Canada Marcin Bosacki last week and confirmed the agency’s intention to step up efforts to certify Polish apples for sale in Canada, allowing them to be imported for the first time.
During a discussion with Ambassador Bosacki and the head of Poland’s Department of Trade and Investment Promotion Rafal Pawlak, CFIA representatives also made a declaratio of goodwill in allowing further work on other agricultural products export to Canada, in particular vegetables and poultry.
“Both sides agreed that the embargo on food import introduced recently by Russia is a major challenge both for Polish and Canadian food industries,” said Olga Jabłońska, spokesperson forthe Polish Embassy in Ottawa. “The new situation requires not only closer cooperation between the two countries, but also the one between Canada and the EU.”
Canadian importers and Polish exporters have been calling for Polish apples to be granted entry to the Canadian market since 2012.
