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Meng Wanzhou returned to China at the end of September after nearly three years under house arrest in Canada. Photo: Reuters
EconomyChina Economy

Canada’s canola farmers hope Meng Wanzhou release ‘lowers the temperatures’ with China amid trade spat

  • Canada is the world’s largest grower of canola, but China suspended the licences of two major shippers in 2019, while making shipments from other firms subject to enhanced inspections
  • Beijing said its decision was ‘well-grounded’, denying speculation that it was a retaliation against the arrest of Meng Wanzhou
China trade
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The resolution of US criminal charges against the chief financial officer of Huawei Technologies Co. is boosting optimism that China and Canada can resolve a trade spat over canola.

Canada is the world’s largest grower of canola, an oilseed used in everything from salads to deep-frying, but the commodity is stuck in the crosshairs of a dispute between the nation, China and the United States.

China suspended the licences of two major Canadian shippers, Viterra and Richardson International, in 2019 in a move that was interpreted as retaliation over the arrest of Huawei chief financial officer Meng Wanzhou in Vancouver.
Now that Meng has been released and two Canadians detained in China were allowed to return home, “hopefully that lowers the temperatures between the two countries,” said Jim Everson, president of the Winnipeg-based Canola Council of Canada.
We congratulate the Government of Canada and our diplomats for resolving a major issue impacting Canada-China relations and hope it leads to an environment to resolve the outstanding canola trade issue
Canola Council of Canada

China is the largest importer of oilseeds and “our goal is to have predictable open trade,” Everson said. 

“On September 24th, an agreement was reached which brought the extradition case against Meng Wanzhou to a close and Michael Kovrig and Michael Spavor returning to Canada. We congratulate the Government of Canada and our diplomats for resolving a major issue impacting Canada-China relations and hope it leads to an environment to resolve the outstanding canola trade issue,” said a statement on the Canola Council of Canada website.

Canada’s 2021 canola crop was scorched by drought so it may take time to discern if China plans to change its policy toward the nation’s big shippers, said Neil Townsend, chief market analyst at FarmLink.

Canola production is poised to drop 24 per cent to 14.7 million metric tons this year as dry conditions dwindled yields to the lowest in a decade, according to Statistics Canada.

“I think we’re going to find out more about how China feels about us on the canola front when we grow a bit more,” Townsend said.

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