Sask. farm group reacts as China cancels Canadian canola shipments

Tensions between Canada and China have put Saskatchewan farmers in the crosshairs.

Winnipeg-based grain handler Richardson International had its registration to ship canola to China cancelled at the beginning of March.

“Canola is our biggest cash crop in the province, so this will affect things right away and quickly,” said Agricultural Producers Association of Saskatchewan president Todd Lewis.

The Chinese government didn’t disclose its reason for blocking Richardson’s access, according to a Tuesday report from the Reuters news agency. However, the move was widely viewed as further retaliation for Canada’s arrest of Meng Wanzhou, chief financial officer of Chinese telecom giant Huawei.

Wanzhou faces extradition to the U.S., where she’s accused of orchestrating violations of American sanctions against Iran.

China usually spends about $2.5 billion per year on Canadian canola. Lewis said it’s an important, but occasionally difficult, relationship.

“Farmers don’t have much to do with the decisions being made, but we have a lot of exposure when those decisions are made,” he said.

He said finding other, more predictable markets and expanding domestic canola consumption and processing would be the best longer-term ways to reduce China’s ability to target Canadian farmers.

For now, he said that with at least six or seven months until the next canola crop, most producers would likely stick to their seeding plans in hopes the dispute is resolved before harvest.