Inspection backlog holds up grain shipments

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Published: April 22, 2004

Delays in getting phytosanitary certificates are causing headaches for grain exporters operating out of west coast ports.

A process that has traditionally taken three to five days is now taking 11-14 days or even longer, say grain shippers.

That is causing problems meeting customers’ shipping schedules and obtaining prompt payment for prairie grain farmers, they say.

“There have been slowdowns,” said Canadian Wheat Board spokesperson Louise Waldman.

Phytosanitary certificates confirm that an export shipment of plant products is free of disease, pests and noxious weeds, and verify that the shipment meets the standards required by the importing countries.

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Vessels can leave port without a phytosanitary certificate but cannot be unloaded at destination. In addition, payment will not be made in the absence of a certificate.

Officials representing shippers of both board and non-board grains, such as canola, said there have been instances of vessels unable to unload at foreign ports for several days while they awaited the arrival of the required documents.

“That means farmers are missing five or 10 days of interest earnings on those payments,” said Waldman.

The federal agency responsible for issuing the certificates says it’s aware of the situation.

“We’d obviously like to get the issuance of certificates back to what the industry considers to be a reasonable level,” said Gaye LePage, acting director of the Canadian Food Inspection Agency’s western area plant protection network.

But she said there has been an increase in workload for CFIA inspectors who issue the certificates.

More special crops are being exported from the West Coast, which has increased the demand for phytosanitary inspection.

More grain is being shipped in containers, each of which requires its own certificate. That can mean more than 20 certificates for a single ship.

Changes in the lumber industry have also resulted in increased demand for phytosanitary inspection for lumber exports. In March, for example, the CFIA issued 251 certificates for grain and 550 for lumber.

“There is a lot more demand for our services and that’s why we have been experiencing delays,” said LePage.

She said the agency has taken steps to improve the situation, including increasing the number of staff dealing with phytosanitary certificates to three from two, working overtime, opening a harbourfront office, getting assistance from other CFIA offices in Western Canada and looking into streamlining the application process using more on-line services.

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Adrian Ewins

Saskatoon newsroom

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