Wanted: Canola customers
Federal trade minister pushing China to verify claims
OTTAWA — Canada is looking for new Asian customers for its canola to answer China’s ban on many shipments of the product, says International Trade Minister Jim Carr.
The Canadian government is also still pushing China to allow a Canadian delegation to visit the People’s Republic to verify complaints that Canadian canola is contaminated with pests, Carr said in an interview.
So far, China hasn’t agreed to requests for a Canadian delegation to test its unproven concerns. China has rejected Canadian canola-seed shipments in recent months and has suspended the licences of two major Canadian exporters.
The government requested permission on April 1 for inspectors from the Canadian Food Inspection Agency and Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada to visit China, but so far there has been no response.
The CFIA has twice inspected the shipments in question and found no impurities, Carr told The Canadian Press on Saturday, prior to the visit of Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe.
“We want to have a science conversation with the Chinese to verify any allegations that the very high quality Canadian canola has any impurities at all. We’re looking to have that proven to us,” the minister said. “We will send a high-level delegation as soon as that invitation is sent to us. Meanwhile, it’s important that we look for other markets for our canola and certainly the Asia-Pacific is among them, including Japan.”