China’s three-year ban on Canadian rapeseed is over, according to the federal government.
In a joint statement issued Wednesday afternoon, Trade Minister Mary Ng and Agriculture Minister Marie-Claude Bibo said China had restored market access to two Canadian grain companies that were barred from exporting rapeseed to China. from March 2019
“We welcome this decision to lift the restrictions and restore the two companies immediately to allow them to export canola seeds from canola,” the statement said.
“Canada will always maintain a firm, rules-based international trading system and related dispute settlement mechanisms, as well as a scientifically sound approach to resolving such issues.
In March 2019, the Chinese government blocked the supply of rapeseed by Canadian companies Richardson International Ltd. and Viterra Inc., suspending their licenses, claiming they found pests in rapeseed shipments.
The move followed the arrest of Chinese chief financial officer Huawei’s chief financial officer Meng Wangzhou in Vancouver a few months earlier.
In September 2019, Canada took the rape dispute to the World Trade Organization. A WTO Dispute Resolution Committee was set up in November 2021.
Expensive dispute
Prior to trade tensions, the Chinese market accounted for 40 percent of canola exports.
According to the Canadian Canola Council, seed exports to China fell from $ 2.8 billion in 2018 before limits to $ 800 million in 2019, $ 1.4 billion in 2020 and $ 1.8 billion in 2021
The industry estimates that the dispute cost the industry between $ 1.54 billion and $ 2.35 billion from lost sales and lower prices alone between March 2019 and August 2020.
“This is a positive step forward by restoring full rapeseed trade with China and ensuring that all Canadian exporters are treated equally by the Chinese administration,” canola canon president Jim Everson said in a press release.
“We will continue our efforts to nurture and maintain a predictable, rules-based trading environment.
Canada is the largest producer of rapeseed in the world. It is one of the most widely grown crops in Canada and is currently trading at record highs as the war in Ukraine raises agricultural commodity prices.
Rapeseed is mainly used to make cooking oil, but can also be used as livestock feed and for biodiesel production.
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