Canola industry welcomes significant progress on Chinese tariffs

Jan 16, 2026

The Canola Council of Canada (CCC) and Canadian Canola Growers Association (CCGA) welcome the announcement made today in Beijing to provide significant tariff relief for Canadian canola seed and meal. Under the agreement reached between Canada and China, tariffs on Canadian canola seed imports are expected to be reduced to 15% as of March 1, 2026, and the current 100% tariffs on canola meal are expected to be removed as of March 1, 2026, until at least the end of the calendar year.

“The agreement reached on canola seed and meal is an important milestone in Canada’s trading relationship with China,” says Chris Davison, CCC President & CEO. “The Canadian canola industry has been clear since the outset that these tariffs are a political issue requiring a political solution. We are pleased to see significant progress in restoring market access for seed and meal and will continue to build on this development by working to achieve permanent and complete tariff relief, including for canola oil, moving forward.”

“With most of the 2025 canola crop stored on farm, and planting of the 2026 crop only months away, canola farmers are looking for predictability and confidence in the ability to market their canola,” says Rick White, President & CEO at CCGA. “We are pleased to see this significant progress and will be looking for resumption of canola movement in the future.”

Canadian exports of canola and canola products to China were valued at approximately $5 billion in 2024. For 2025, export value to China is expected to plummet to less than half that amount. China is Canada’s largest market for canola seed and second largest market for canola meal.

“With the impacts of this trade disruption being felt across the entire Canadian canola value chain, we welcome meaningful progress to restore smoother, more predictable trade,” say Davison and White. “We greatly appreciate the efforts of Prime Minister Carney and the Government of Canada, including Agriculture and Agri-Food Minister Heath MacDonald, to re-establish bilateral trade with our second largest export market.”

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