Farmers fret as Japan halts wheat imports from Canada

Alberta farmers are EDMONTON concerned after Japan announced Friday it was blocking imports of Canadian wheat following the discovery of an unauthorized clump of genetically modified wheat in southern Alberta.

The Asian country is one of Canada’s biggest customers for the grain and bought $203 million worth of wheat last year from Alberta alone, making it the secondhighest purchaser after the United States, provincial agriculture statistics show.

“We just heard they’re temporarily suspending shipments, just to find out more information. We don’t know how long,” Alberta Wheat Commission chairman Kevin Bender said.

It’s the first time genetically modified wheat, which isn’t approved for commercial use in Canada and other nations, has shown up in the country, although such wheat has been field tested, according to the Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA).

The plants, modified to resist Monsanto’s Roundup weed killer, were discovered last summer by a contractor who reported a few stalks of weed wheat beside an oil access road survived treatment with the herbicide, the CFIA said.

The agency says it was an isolated incident and that extensive testing of nearby fields, export shipments and other sites showed no genetically modified wheat had entered the shipping or seed systems.

“The event itself is really not an issue, but it’s kind of being made into an issue … We know the Japanese in the past have been very specific in issues like this,” said Bender, who’s concerned it could hurt prices.

“It’s a concern. It could spread to other countries. We’re hoping it’s very brief … We’re quite confident once the Japanese see the full report from the CFIA, they will be satisfied this is an isolated case.”

Alberta Economic Development and Trade Minister Deron Bilous said at a Friday news conference he expects the issue will be resolved quickly.

He pointed to similar cases in 2013 and 2016 when Japan shut its borders to U.S. wheat, but reopened markets within a few months.

In 2003, a single BSE-infected cow traced back to northern Alberta spurred a worldwide ban on Canadian beef exports, costing the industry billions of dollars.

Bilous said there is no indication other countries will ban Canadian wheat.