Sask. ag minister offers help to feds on China canola issue

Saskatchewan’s agriculture minister is concerned about canola exports and said China’s decision to pull Richardson International’s permit to ship there could have huge implications for the province.

On Tuesday, it came out that Richardson’s permit to ship to China had been pulled. Richardson is one of the biggest exporters in Canada and, according to the Saskatchewan agriculture minister, China is Saskatchewan’s biggest customer for canola seed.

Speaking to the media Tuesday afternoon, Minister Dave Marit said this is really a federal issue, but he said he’d spoken to the federal agriculture minister earlier in the day.

“We’ve offered to work with the federal government and the federal ministry in any way, along with CFIA (Canadian Food Inspection Agency), to try and come to a resolve on this issue and hopefully we can come to a resolve real quickly,” he said.

Most farmers already have their seeding plans made, according to Marit, and he said they’re not likely to change.

Marit said there are other markets Saskatchewan does business with, though he did say the time frame for a solution on this is probably getting critical.

Marit was unwilling to predict what effects this could have on Saskatchewan until he had a better idea of what the time frame is for a solution — and he’s hoping for a quick one.

“Find a real quick solution so that we can mitigate it all and continue the flow of canola to China and abroad and not impact the industry here in the province of Saskatchewan,” he said.