Canola giant feels targeted by China
Richardson International, Canada’s largest exporter of canola, says it has become a target in the escalating political spat between Canada and Beijing after China revoked its authorization to export the crop to its vast market. “I think that we are being caught in the middle of a much larger dispute,” Jean-Marc Ruest, senior vice-president of global affairs and general counsel for the Winnipeg-based firm said.
“As a large Canadian corporation, there is a certain motivation to target Richardson.”
China’s move to halt canola imports from Richardson comes amid rising tensions between Beijing and the Canadian government following the arrest of Huawei chief financial officer Meng Wanzhou in Vancouver on Dec. 1. The arrest, made on a U.S. extradition request, was followed by the detentions of Canadian citizens in China in apparent retaliation. China has made no statement on why Richardson’s canola exports have been blocked. In December, Richardson and other Canadian exporters received non-compliance notices alleging that “prohibited pests” or weed seeds had been found in their shipments, Ruest said. Richardson is Canada’s largest Canadian-owned canola exporter and the country’s biggest privately owned agribusiness. “We reviewed those allegations along with the Canadian government and came to the conclusion that they were unfounded,” said Ruest. “We absolutely did not agree that there were quality issues with the shipment.”
In the following months, Canadian inspections of all shipments continued to confirm the absence of pests, he added.
“But then on Friday March 1 we were advised by the Canadian government that it had been advised that our status as an authorized Canadian exporter was being revoked by China,” Ruest said. “China is alleging, notwithstanding those Canadian inspections, that weed seeds continue to be present in our shipments.”
In a statement, Agriculture Minister Marie-Claude Bibeau said the Canadian Food Inspection Agency conducted “further investigations” in response to the Chinese notices and that no pests or bacteria of concern were identified in the shipments.
As a large Canadian corporation, there is a certain motivation to target Richardson.
“We continue to be a supplier of high-quality canola to China and will work with China to resolve this issue as quickly as possible,” she said.
Though other Canadian companies also received the initial notifications in December, Ruest believes his is the only firm to have its authorization revoked. Canadian grain exporters — including Viterra, Cargill and Parrish and Heimbecker — declined to comment. The Canola Council of Canada said there was no clear evidence the current challenges facing canola exporters are linked to “diplomatic frictions.” Richardson sends several shipments to China annually, each carrying roughly 50,000 tonnes of canola, Ruest said.
“It’s a significant part of our business and obviously we’ll have to find other outlets for our product,” Ruest said.
“This is an issue much larger than Richardson so we have to hope and expect that our government is going to take all the steps required to address the situation forcefully.”