Farmers fear canola regulations will hurt business

The head of a national group that represents canola farmers says they are concerned that China’s plan to impose stricter import regulations on the crop this week will put them at a competitive disadvantage and clog Canada’s grain terminals.

China says it will allow canola shipments containing no more than one per cent of waste product, which would include parts of the canola plant other than seeds, as well as weeds and other crops, starting Thursday, compared with the 2.5 per cent allowance Monday.

Rick White, CEO of the Canadian Canola Growers Association, says the tougher restrictions will mean grain traders will have to pass on the higher costs of processing to farmers.

He says he’s also concerned the new rules will slow down all grain shipments through western terminals because of the extra time and equipment required to clean the grain down to the one per cent threshold.

The dispute comes as Statistics Canada is expecting some bumper grain crops this year, including 17 million tonnes of canola for the third biggest harvest on record.

China is the largest customer of Canadian canola, accounting for 40 per cent of exports worth about $2 billion annually.

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