Prime Minister
Justin Trudeau wasted no time getting to the canola issue in China, although he apparently never let the word pass his lips.
Soon after he
landed, he told a meeting of businessmen that Canada has earned a reputation
for high-quality and clean agricultural products.
The Chinese will
implement a reduced tolerance for dockage in canola shipments effective
Thursday, Sept. 1.
Canadians say the
lower limit is not necessary to protect China from blackleg disease, but the
Chinese say it is.
Meeting the new
standard will be expensive and time-consuming, say growers and traders.
Yet three
companies have booked orders from China at the new standards, upsetting some
who say they are undermining Canada’s stance.
Trudeau told
the businessmen “in our agriculture, we use high-quality products and we create
high-quality products and goods.”
Trade
Minister Chrystia Freeland told reporters after Trudeau’s speech that Canada
had made very clear what a key issue canola is.
“This is
a big deal for Canada,” she said.
Canola is the country’s second-largest
trading product with China and China is the biggest buyer of Canadian canola.
