Alberta grain farmers breathe sigh of relief as Belgium reaches deal to back CETA

Alberta grain producers breathed a collective sigh of relief on Thursday.

That's because the Belgian government appears to have smoothed things over with its Wallonia region, which has been blocking the adoption of an EU-Canada free trade agreement (CETA) over the past few weeks.

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"It was not good news that one little region in Belgium could scuttle a whole deal, so hearing that it was going through again was a big relief, let me tell you," saidKevinAuch, chair of Alberta Wheat Commission.

Currently, Canadian farmers are subject to a $114 to $190/tonnetariff on grain exports to the EU.

WhenCETAcomes into effect, more than 90 per cent of tariffs will be eliminated on wheat, oat, barley, rye, durum andcanolaexports to Europe.

"We're moving about two million tons a year into there right now. So this could add up to significant dollars for Canadian farmers here,Auchtold the CalgaryEyeopener.

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He said the free trade deal would also give Canadian producers a "competitive advantage over those U.S. farmers."

Auchfigures it won't be long before Alberta grain producers feel the effects of theCETAdeal.

"As soon as the ink is signed, the tariffs disappear, so deals that are being negotiated at this time will take that into account and those savings will start getting passed on to farmers almost immediately."

With files from the Calgary Eyeopener