Promoting Canadian food and agriculture, Canadian Agricultural Minister Gerry Ritz led a trade mission to Japan which concluded Thursday.

Gerry Ritz met with Japanese counterpart, the recently appointed Agriculture Minister before meeting a large number of business organizations and industry leaders in the country.

Meeting with the Japanese political leaders and industry heads, the Canadian agro minister applauded Japan's latest relaxation of beef business barriers. Canada expects to double its beef exports to the Asian Island nation.

"The Harper Government is focused on what matters to Canadians - jobs, growth and long-term prosperity. Thanks to the newly expanded beef access, Canadian beef producers will be able to gain and maintain broader access to diverse markets, increase Canadian exports and continue to bolster the Canadian economy." said Minister Ritz in a press release Thursday following the conclusion of the trade mission in Japan.

"Since February, a larger selection of Canadian beef is now available in Japan throughout the year and this bodes well for our continued development of trade with our Japanese partners," said Ritz.

The Canadian minister reiterated its commitment to further deepening the Economic Partnership Agreement (EPA) with the Japanese government.

"An EPA would allow for optimum growth of the Canada- Japan trading relationship and we look forward to the next round of negotiations," said Minister Ritz. "The strengthening of this relationship will bring significant benefit for Canadian producers."

During his visit to Japan, minister Ritz was joined by a Canadian industry delegation consisting of representatives from the cattle, canola, beef, pork and wheat sectors.

Canada is Japan's top Canola supplier last year and Japan is Canada's third largest exporter of beef.

Canada last year has exported agricultural products worth $ 4.2 billion.

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