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Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Agriculture, Pierre Lemieux (Photo: pierrelemieux.ca)

The Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Agriculture has returned from Japan.

Pierre Lemieux was working on strengthening agricultural and trade ties and also expressed Canada's appreciation for Japan's recent decision to review its domestic and import regulations for beef.

Martin Unrau, President of the Canadian Cattlemen’s Association, said expanding that Japanese market is important.

"At the end of the day, if we can move to under 30 months, we could bring our supply up to speed and be able to service that market in a better way, thus being able to make a few more dollars per animal," said Unrau.

The Canadian Cattlemen’s Association estimates that Canadian beef sales to Japan could rise to $160 million in the first full year of access.

Japan is a key market for Canadian Agriculture. It's the third-largest economy in the world and Canada’s second largest agricultural market, and represents almost $4 billion to Canadian farmers and food processors.