REGINA — Saskatchewan’s agriculture minister is among those welcoming the news that China has ended the three-year ban on Canadian canola.
It’s “very good news,” said Agriculture Minister David Marit to reporters at the legislature last Thursday.
“It’s good news for the farmers, good news for the province and good news for the industry,” said Marit.
Both Richardson and Viterra had their licenses for access to China reinstated last week. Global Affairs Canada made the announcement in a statement from Mary Ng, minister of International Trade, Export Promotion, Small Business and Economic Development, and Marie-Claude Bibeau, minister of Agriculture and Agri-Food, last Wednesday.
“Canada has been advised that China has reinstated access to its market for two Canadian companies that China customs had suspended from exporting canola seed to China since March 2019.
“We welcome this decision to remove the restrictions and immediately reinstate the two companies to allow them to export Canadian canola seeds.
“We will continue to work with Canadian canola farmers, businesses, exporters, and their communities to defend their interests and support their success at home and in markets abroad, including China.
“Canada will always firmly uphold the international rules-based trade system and related dispute settlement mechanisms, as well as a science-based approach to resolving such issues,” Ng said in a statement.
Shortly after the ban was announced, the federal government took the issue to the World Trade Organization, whose members agreed to establish a panel in July 2021; the panel was composed in November of that year.
Marit acknowledged both Richardson and Viterra had struggled when the export ban was first announced, but “both companies seemed to work through that process.”
“Obviously, when it first happened, the province was engaged with the federal government saying ‘OK what actions are you going to take,’ and obviously it went to the WTO and the challenge was put there. It’s nice to see that process does work … and it’s good to see these two companies are back into importing into China.”
