Chinese market ‘effectively closed’ to Canadian canola

Posted on September 26, 2025 by admin

By Cal Braid
Southern Alberta Newspapers
Local Journalism Initiative Reporter

 On Sept. 5, the Canadian Canola Growers Association (CCGA) said the canola industry was let down by the federal government’s support measures in response to the closure of the Chinese market to Canadian canola seed, oil, and meal.

 “The announced measures fall short of what is required to support the industry during this unprecedented trade disruption,” the CCGA news release said after Ottawa announced $370 million in new support for Canadian canola producers who face prohibitive tariffs from their second-most lucrative market. Ottawa additionally increased interest-free loan limits for canola producers to $500,000.

 “The measures announced today do not reflect the seriousness of the challenge facing the value chain,” said Chris Davison, Canola Council of Canada (CCC) president and CEO. “We have communicated the need for appropriate financial and policy supports, and the federal government has missed the mark.”

 Then last week, a temporary doubling of the interest-free portion for canola advances under the Advance Payments Program (APP) went into effect. The APP is a federal loan program administered by CCGA in western Canada, and it began issuing cash advances at the new limits on Sept. 16.

 The implementation means that for the 2025 and 2026 program years, farmers have access to up to $500,000 interest-free and a maximum eligible advance of $1 million. For 2025, the interest-free component includes up to $250,000 for any commodity eligible under the program, plus an additional $250,000 for canola only, said the CCGA.

For 2025, farmers can apply for up to $1 million in financing, with up to $500,000 interest-free, and the remaining at CCGA’s interest-bearing rate of prime less 0.25 per cent.

 Back on Aug. 12,  China’s ministry of commerce (MOFCOM) announced the imposition of a 75.8 per cent duty, collected in the form of a deposit, on all Canadian canola seed shipments beginning Aug. 14.

 The announcement came five months after MOFCOM announced a 100 per cent tariff rate on Canadian canola oil, meal and other agricultural commodities. The move resulted from China’s anti-discrimination investigation against Canada after Canada placed 100 per cent tariffs on Chinese electric vehicles, steel, and aluminum.

 Prior to all of that, China launched an anti-dumping investigation in Sept. 2024. According to the CCGA, “anti-dumping investigations are initiated when a country has evidence indicating that a product is being imported at a lower price than its selling price in the country where it is produced.”

 According to the World Trade Organization, anti-dumping measures can only be applied if the dumping is hurting the industry in the importing country – in this case, China.

 The Canadian canola industry has insisted that Canada’s canola trade with China “is aligned with and supports rules-based trade, fair market access and competitiveness of Canadian canola in the Chinese market.”

 The “unprecedented trade disruption” is a very serious challenge. China is Canada’s second-largest market for canola, with exports valued at $4.9 billion in 2024, according to CCGA. Canola seed accounts for roughly three-quarters of those exports.

 In 2024, Canada’s exports to its largest market, the US, were valued at $7.7 billion. The next three most significant markets – Japan, Mexico, and the European Union – were valued at a combined $1.6 billion, less than a third of China’s market value.

 The CCGA said that canola is the “single largest contributor to farm cash receipts and is a vital economic contributor to Canadian grain farms. Any time there is an anticipated or actual market disruption, the prices that farmers receive for their canola are affected.”

 It called the Chinese market “effectively closed.”

 Ongoing uncertainty looms about the degree or the duration of the impact on canola farmers. Post-harvest returns on investment are hanging in the balance and the market could also affect which crop they will plant next spring.

 Editor’s Note: Are you a local canola farmer who wants to be heard on this issue? If so, please contact the Westwind Weekly News.