Alberta Canola continues to work on behalf of growers through the Canola Council of Canada (CCC) on the challenges that persist for canola seed exports to China. Chinese buyers remain unwilling to purchase Canadian canola seed, and the licenses of two companies (Richardson and Viterra) to export canola seed to China have been suspended. Canola oil and meal are not subject to the same challenges as canola seed.
The CCC is working closely with the government of Canada to find science-based solutions and resume stable trade as quickly as possible. The Government of Canada has acted quickly, and is engaged at the most senior levels to resolve the issue. This has included numerous interactions between the Canadian Food Inspection Agency and their Chinese counterpart to resolve quality concerns that have been raised, including a request for a high-level mission to intensify science-based discussions. Technical discussions with China are required to resolve technical concerns.
Since March 1st, the CCC has met with the prime minister, the foreign affairs minister, the trade minister, the federal agriculture minister as well as contact with both the Saskatchewan and Manitoba agriculture ministers, emphasizing the importance of resolving the issue for the whole Canadian value chain, including farmers, and how this affects all Canadians.
We are confident in the quality of Canadian canola. Our canola consistently meets the requirements of countries around the world. We will continue our efforts to focus attention in Ottawa on resolving this issue as quickly as possible.
Source: Canola Council of Canada
