Canada and Iran are locked in an ugly dispute in which the Canadian ambassador to Iran has been recalled, but Canada’s agriculture industry isn’t afraid of losing what has been a huge market.
On occasion, Iran is a leading importer of Canadian grains but in the past couple of years it has bought little from Canada.
“It’s on and off; it’s intermittent,” said special crops industry analyst Brian Clancey.
For example, 64 tonnes of lentils have been sold to Iran this crop year, while 14,000 tonnes were shipped in 2000-01.
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Wheat sales are just as spasmodic, but with greater implications to prairie farmers.
Iran was Canada’s biggest wheat customer in 1999-2000, buying almost 3.5 million tonnes of wheat and durum. It bought 50 percent more Canadian wheat than the Canadian domestic market.
However, in 2002-03 Iran bought 140,000 tonnes, less than one-twentieth of 1999-2000.
Sales for this crop year could be even lower.
“It looks like (the region has) more bumper crops,” said Canadian Wheat Board spokesperson Louise Waldman.
Iranian demand tends to come in spurts, when local crops lag.
“A lot depends on their own production,” Waldman said.
Canada’s relations with Iran hit a low point recently because of the trial of an Iranian security agent accused of killing an Iranian-Canadian photojournalist.
Zahra Kazemi died after being arrested for taking photographs outside an Iranian prison. At first Iranian officials claimed Kazemi’s death was caused by a fall, but a later government investigation said she had been struck upon the head during an interrogation.
An Iranian security operative was charged with unlawfully killing Kazemi but was acquitted.
Canada has asked for a new inquiry into Kazemi’s death.
