Canadian Agriculture Minister Ralph Eichler said now is the time to go to China to resolve issues related to the ban on Canadian canola seed imports “once and for all.” After announcing that it was optimistic about a possible agreement, the Canadian ministry was surprised by yet another ban from China. “This hiccup, as I want to call it, was certainly derailed by the Chinese government,” Ralph Eichler told reporters in Brandon on Monday. “I think we need to take a trip to China and sort this out sooner rather than later.” Eichler was in the southwestern Manitoba city announcing the expansion of a discount program offered by the Manitoba Agricultural Services Corporation for young farmers. However, reporters' questions quickly turned to China halting imports of Canadian canola seeds.
Chinese authorities revoked the sales license of a major Canadian canola distributor, Richardson International, earlier this month. Authorities at the time said it was linked to “dangerous pests” in the seed, an allegation Richardson vehemently denied. However, the Canola Council of Canada (CCC) said on Friday that Chinese importers are not willing to buy Canadian canola seeds.
Some believe the ban has to do with the arrest of a Chinese technology company executive in Canada, a conflict that Canadian farmers say they have now been dragged into. “There are a lot of circumstances going around right now that make the issue more complicated than it should be,” said Bill Campbell, president of Keystone Agricultural Producers of Manitoba. "It is not good. It's not good at all. Most of these difficulties will be passed on to the primary producer. It will be felt in the price I receive for my canola. This is huge in the agricultural landscape”, he adds.
Source: agrolink | Author: Leonardo Gottems
