Canola

Building on the progress achieved during Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s late-August 2016 visit to Beijing, Canada and China signed a memorandum of understanding on canola on September 23, 2016. The memorandum of understanding outlines a solution that will allow stable and predictable trade in canola to continue on an uninterrupted basis between Canada and China under existing terms of trade through early 2020. This confirms Canada and China’s shared interest in mitigating the risk of transmitting blackleg and a shared commitment to developing a lasting solution.

In 2009, China identified a concern over the presence of blackleg in shipments of Canadian canola. Blackleg has the potential to affect crop yields and is present in most canola- and rapeseed-growing countries.

Recognizing the importance of this issue to China, Canada and China have worked collaboratively since 2009 to find ways to mitigate the risk of transmitting blackleg through shipments of Canadian canola. Canada and China will continue to collaborate with the goal of improving risk-mitigation measures while also establishing a stable and predictable commercial environment that will benefit industry participants in both countries.