OTTAWA — Trade Minister Ed Fast says Canada is no nearer to joining a new high-profile trade formation in the Asia-Pacific because he's not sure it's in the country's best interest.

The rookie trade minister suggested in a conference call from India on Wednesday that Canada could do quite well in the fast-growing region without joining the hot new kid on the block, called the Trans-Pacific Partnership.

He pointed out that Canada remains part of the Asia-Pacific Economic Co-operation forum, which is meeting this weekend, and recently signed a trade and investment understanding with the ASEAN, another regional forum.

Fast would give no specific reasons why Canada is not part of a process that includes the United States, Chile, New Zealand, Malaysia and expected new entrant Japan.

But experts in the field say it is more likely that several members of the TPP, particularly the U.S. and New Zealand, are actually blocking Canada from joining the club of nine.

The analysts say they object to Canada's supply management scheme that protects dairy and poultry farmers from foreign competition.

"The countries participating in the TPP talks haven't felt that Canada is ready to negotiate in good faith on liberalizing dairy products in particular, but also poultry products," said former Canadian trade negotiator John Weekes, who is now with the Bennett Jones law firm in Ottawa.

Asked the question directly, Fast said he did not want to get into speculation about "sticking points," but said his government is committed to preserving the system. Dairy and poultry farmers are concentrated in the voter-rich provinces of Ontario and Quebec.

If the government sticks with that position, Canada would lose out on major trade deals in the future, predicted Walid Hejazi of the Rotman School of Management.

"Supply management is something we need to deal with because it is hurting us in negotiations," Hejazi said.

Weekes said Canada stands to lose out if it doesn't get into the TPP talks.

"The United States sees it as the 21st-century trade agreement, as the new gold standard, a more modern form of NAFTA," he explained, referring to the North American Free Trade Agreement between Canada, the United States and Mexico..

"If this negotiation does spread out and engage a number of our major partners in the Pacific, we face the situation where the United States, Australia and New Zealand and others can have free access for a range of agricultural products to Japan that we don't have. There's all this opportunity out there in the Asian market and we could be left out."

Fast also described trade talks with South Korea as stalled, but insisted that Canada is moving aggressively where it has willing partners, such as Europe and India.