OTTAWA (Staff) – Effective May 1, Canada will accept American assurances that U.S. grain being unloaded into elevators along the St. Lawrence Seaway is free of the karnal bunt infection.
It is a further relaxation of tough controls against U.S. wheat imports that were imposed in March.
American wheat imports, even those just passing through the seaway for transit to overseas markets, were banned briefly when the karnal bunt fungus was discovered in some states, including California, Arizona, New Mexico and Texas.
Protect export shipments
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It was an effort by the Canadian government to ensure the fungus would not contaminate the Canadian export crop or give any foreign customer reason to suspect Canadian grain could be contaminated.
After protests from the Americans, the Canadian government agreed in late March to allow American grain that was not leaving the ship to be transported through the seaway en route to export destinations.
For grain that was being unloaded into Canadian transfer elevators, the U.S. government was required to take a sample of each shipment and send the sample to Agriculture Canada scientists for testing.
“Upon determination of negative results, lakers will be allowed to dock and unload at Canadian elevators,” said the government policy directive.
Effective May 1, Canada will take the American word for it.
If a shipment is accompanied by an official American document certifying the grain is free of karnal bunt or originated in an elevator that has been declared karnal bunt-free, then the shipment can be unloaded at a Canadian transfer elevator.
