Canaryseed exports to Mexico are set to resume, at least for the time being.
Gordon Bacon of the Canadian Special Crops Association said Mexican authorities confirmed last week that Canadian exporters would be allowed to resume shipments under interim trade rules until June 21.
“On Jan 4, we received confirmation that Mexico had granted Canada’s request to resume exports,” Bacon said. “We’ll be using the same interim rules that were put in place when we were trying to clean up the problems we were having with exports back in August.”
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Last June Mexican authorities detected what they considered unacceptable levels of buckwheat seeds in Canadian canaryseed.
Under the interim rules, all shipments of Canadian canaryseed will be subject to inspection when they arrive in Mexico.
If Mexican inspectors find shipments that contain quarantined weed seeds, the Canadian exporter will have the option of returning the seed to Canada or sending it to a Mexican handling facility for recleaning. Recleaning could cost $40 a tonne or more.
In a presentation to the Canaryseed Development Commission of Saskatchewan during Crop Production Week in Saskatoon, Bacon said there is a strong possibility that all shipments arriving in Mexico will require recleaning because Mexican authorities have not established a tolerance level for the presence of quarantined weed seeds.
Until it does, Canadian exporters should brace for the worst.
“The likelihood of trying to meet a zero tolerance policy for weeds of quarantine concern pretty much guarantees that you’re going to have to send that product for recleaning,” Bacon said.
Agricultural authorities from Canada and Mexico met in July and agreed to temporary steps aimed at clearing the backlog of shipments held up at the Mexican border.
The backlog was cleared and exports resumed under the interim rules, but Mexican authorities are still concerned about buckwheat seeds and little progress has been made toward establishing a permanent solution.
Canadian stakeholders say the problems are likely to continue until the countries agree to reasonable tolerance levels.
Exports to Mexico have been virtually non-existent since September.
Mexico is the largest importer of Canadian canaryseed, accounting for approximately 25 percent of sales.
