'Future is pretty bright': Sask. farmers celebrate China's move to lift canola ban
With spring seeding in Saskatchewan well underway, farmers are beginning the growing season with some added assurance.
After three years, China has lifted the ban on Canadian canola.
Last week, China reinstated market access for two Canadian grain trading companies – Richardson International Ltd. and Viterra Inc., ending a three year diplomatic dispute.
“China has always been an important customer of Canada and Saskatchewan, and unfortunately, when they put the policy in place it definitely hurt the price of canola especially two, three years ago,” Agriculture Producers Association of Saskatchewan past president Todd Lewis said.
“At this point, we have great demand for canola and canola products and this is just going to increase that demand. So it is good news.”
According to figures from Canola Council of Canada, seed exports to China have fallen from $2.8 billion in 2018 before the restrictions, to $800 million in 2019, $1.4 billion in 2020 and $1.8 billion in 2021.
The council said the Chinese ban cost the industry between $1.54 and $2.35 billion from lost sales and lower prices between March 2019 and August 2020 alone.
“This is a positive step forward, restoring full trade in canola with China and ensuring that all Canadian exporters are treated equally by the Chinese administration,” Jim Everson, president of the Canola Council of Canada, said on the group’s website.
Canada is the world’s largest producer of canola, with Saskatchewan playing a major part in that.
“Well, Saskatchewan is the world leader in canola,” Lewis said. “The future is pretty bright this year for those producers that can grow some canola, especially after last year's weather-related issues.”
Jim Wickett farms in the Rosetown area. While he didn’t grow canola last year, he said he certainly felt the pinch created by China’s ban.
“I think every farmer was directly impacted. It certainly affected some of the other oil seeds. (It’s) just the nature of the market. The prices go down or are in some kind of relation to the oil complex. That artificially held the price down, (then) we had a large drought last year, and that certainly set the stage for prices to climb,” he said.
While he can’t determine what will happen to the market in the coming months, he doesn’t imagine the ban being lifted will greatly impact canola prices this spring and summer.
However, Lewis thinks having one more place for farmers to market their canola and therefore creating more competition in the marketplace should be beneficial for the provincial economy.
“We're going through a stage now where food is being seen as more and more important, and we're fortunate here in Saskatchewan. We have an abundance of production and we export so much of our crop and it really is a major driver in the economy here in the province,” he said.
One concern for all producers is the rising costs of getting seed in the ground. With inflation sending fuel prices to record highs, having any export bans lifted on Saskatchewan’s most notable crop is welcome news for producers.
“Probably the most expensive crop we're ever going to put into the ground between diesel fuel prices and fertilizer prices and other inputs as well,” Lewis said.
“So, it's important that we have good canola prices, and it's really gonna help the viability of the industry here in the province.”
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Spectacular aurora light show to be seen across Canada Friday night
A rare and severe solar storm is expected to bring spectacular displays of the northern lights, also known as aurora borealis, across much of Canada and parts of the United States on Friday night.
'Tactical evacuations' underway near Fort Nelson, B.C., as wildfires encroach
The BC Wildfire Service says 'tactical evacuations' began Friday near Fort Nelson, B.C., due to an out-of-control wildfire that has grown rapidly since it was discovered earlier in the afternoon.
Snowbirds in Vancouver for puck-drop flyby as Canucks face Oilers
The Canadian Forces Snowbirds will be performing a flyover across downtown Vancouver at the start of tonight's Stanley Cup playoff game between the Canucks and the Edmonton Oilers.
McGill University seeks emergency injunction to dismantle pro-Palestinian encampment
McGill University has filed a request for an injunction to have the pro-Palestinian encampment removed from its campus.
Which Canadian cities have the highest and lowest grocery prices?
Where you live plays a big factor in what you pay at the grocery store. And while it's no secret the same item may have a different price depending on the store, city or province, we wanted to see just how big the differences are, and why.
Swarm of 20,000 bees gather around woman’s car west of Toronto
A swarm of roughly 20,000 bees gathered around a woman’s car in the parking lot of Burlington Centre.
Barron Trump declines to serve as an RNC delegate
Former U.S. President Donald Trump's youngest son, Barron Trump, has declined to serve as a delegate at this summer’s Republican National Convention, according to a senior Trump campaign adviser and a statement from Melania Trump's office.
U.S. says Israel's use of U.S. arms likely violated international law, but evidence is incomplete
The Biden administration said Israel's use of U.S.-provided weapons in Gaza likely violated international humanitarian law but wartime conditions prevented U.S. officials from determining that for certain in specific airstrikes.
'State or state-sponsored actor' believed to be behind B.C. government hacks
The head of British Columbia’s civil service has revealed that a “state or state-sponsored actor” is behind multiple cyber-security incidents against provincial government networks.