Exporters must take advantage of international reputation

Canada often achieves the top spot in surveys that gauge the global reputation of all countries, and this respected image is becoming an increasingly important trade advantage.

A recent GlobeScan survey found 85 per cent of people surveyed view Canada as having a positive influence on world affairs.

An Ipsos survey conducted in late 2025 of 23,000 people across 30 countries found similar results, with respondents saying Canada is the top country expected to have a positive influence on world affairs over the next decade.

We should be proud of the good work Canadians have done to earn this well-deserved reputation when it comes to both international development and the world-class freedoms we enjoy.

Being perceived as a good international partner is a worthy goal in and of itself, but there can be a disjunction between admirable goals and material benefits.

An example of this is how the agricultural industry in Canada has gone to great lengths to show how agricultural goods produced here, including grains and beef, are among the most sustainably produced in the world.

This is partially because over the past decade, we’ve been told at every major agricultural conference and through promotional material from food companies and governments that sustainability must be a top value for the industry.

The industry responded with significant investments and tangible sustainability improvements — another worthy goal, in and of itself.

However, most of the agricultural products Canada exports are bulk commodities sold at global prices, the same price as goods produced with much lower sustainability metrics.

In other words, Canadian farmers are forced to leave some of this sustainability value of their goods on the table because global markets aren’t interested or set up to pay a premium for them.

Working toward aspirational goals is one thing, but convincing people to put their money where their mouth is can be something else entirely.

Within the hostile trading environment in which we now live, trust is becoming an increasingly important characteristic when choosing trading partners.

For instance, many of the countries that signed tariff-relief agreements with U.S. president Donald Trump’s administration regret doing so because they are still being threatened with tariffs.

It can also be difficult to trust that trading partners affected by trade and supply chain disruptions will be able to deliver.

The supply chain shock caused by the closure of the Strait of Hormuz is resonating into an increasing number of industries and goods.

Approximately one-third of the world’s seaborne fertilizer trade and 50 per cent of the global seaborne sulfur trade ships through the Strait of Hormuz.

There are already important agricultural regions facing shortages of fuel and fertilizer.

Sulfur is the primary raw material used to produce sulfuric acid, which the fertilizer industry uses to convert insoluble phosphate rock into water-soluble phosphate fertilizers.

Mosaic Co. recently slashed its phosphate fertilizer production in the United States due to skyrocketing sulfur values.

Sulfuric acid is also a key industrial processing chemical used in the production of critical metals and ultra-high-purity chemicals required to produce semiconductors.

It’s likely the prices for fertilizer, critical metals and electronics will continue to rise as the fiasco at the Strait of Hormuz continues.

Canada’s vast resources, skilled workforce and proven reputation provide an opportunity to step in as a reliable supplier of many products to many economies.

Canadian farmers already benefit from Canada’s reputation for safe and high-quality food ingredients because customers trust they will get what they paid for.

This is the kind of perception that Canada must focus on bolstering and leveraging in order to build resilient trading relationships that won’t dissolve as soon as a cheaper source for a product becomes available.

One of the biggest concerns for international buyers of agri-food products coming from Canada’s West Coast is the bottlenecks in the rail and port network that have a long history of delay problems.

Canada has done well in achieving aspirational goals when it comes to achieving a good global reputation. It’s now time to focus on logistical goals that improve our ability to deliver what the world needs.