(file photo/CKOM News Staff)

By CKOM News Staff

Sask. farmers face uncertainty amid China canola ban

Mar 25, 2019 | 11:46 AM

Concern is growing over China’s expanded ban on Canadian canola seed.

“This is dramatic. It is a huge issue for us to work with. That’s everyone all within the value chain: The farmer working with the exporters to the federal government. Everyone,” SaskCanola chair Lane Stockbrugger said.

China moved Friday to halt imports of Canadian canola seed, claiming they’d found contaminated shipments. Canadian officials and grain-handling firms have disputed those claims, but the dispute remains mired in technical discussions for now.

Stockbrugger said it’s still too early to tell what effect the dispute will have on farmers’ spring seeding plans.

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“I’m hearing different messages from different farmers that I talk to. Some are maybe going to pull back on some acres. Others are forging ahead with their original plan. I just think there are so many unknowns,” he said.

He said all Saskatchewan farmers would be hoping the dispute can be resolved before harvest. However, he said the current ban still affects many farms, including his own operation near Leroy.

“Like many farmers, we still have some of last year’s crop that isn’t marketed. It is a real challenge. It has definitely hit the bottom line of every farmer in Canada,” Stockbrugger said.

China typically purchases around 40 per cent of Canada’s canola seed exports each year, amounting to just over $2.5 billion in 2018.

—With files from 650 CKOM’s Keenan Sorokan