Canadians and Japanese are working on both ends of the lucrative canola pipeline to make sure it doesn’t clog.
The canola industry in both countries was scared by the Brazilian soybean problem with China.
“We just need to make sure we’re harmonized,” said Canola Council of Canada president Barb Isman.
A group of 26 Japanese officials from canola crushers, traders and the government recently came to Winnipeg to meet their Canadian counterparts.
The Japanese government passed a food safety law recently and new standards will cover chemical residues in canola shipments. This spring China refused to accept some shipments of Brazilian soybeans because of fungicide residues, something the canola industry is keen to avoid.
Some market analysts suspect the Chinese rejection of Brazilian soybeans was partly a case of trade harassment, but Isman said she doesn’t believe Japan has any nefarious plans with its food safety law.
“They have no intention of using this as a trade barrier,” said Isman. “They need the product.”
Japan is expected to buy 1.7-1.8 million tonnes of canola this coming crop year, Isman said.
