Countries agreed to extension in dispute
By Diego Flammini
Assistant Editor, North American Content
Farms.com
An analyst with Weber Commodities Ltd. in Saskatoon believes Canada can meet China’s needs when it comes to canola imports.
Larry Weber looks at Canada’s wheat exports and sees no reason why canola can’t follow suit.
“If we can export 18 million tonnes of wheat with 0.5 per cent dockage, why can’t we ship four million tonnes to the Chinese with one per cent?” he told CBC.
China, which accounts for about 40 per cent of Canadian canola exports, was scheduled to implement new regulations on September 1 that allows one per cent of dockage per tonne of canola. The current Canadian standard is 2.5 per cent of dockage per tonne.
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau is currently in China on his first official visit, where he and Chinese premier Li Keqiang announced an extension of the September 1 deadline.
"We're happy to reassure Canadian farmers that (at) the Sept. 1 deadline we will be able to continue with the current regime of canola and we (will) work together very closely towards a long-term solution in the coming days and weeks ahead," Trudeau said according to CBC.