Canadian canola farmers to feel impact from damaging Chinese tariffs

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Canadian farmers are facing a “dire” situation in the face of China’s sudden retaliatory tariffs that take aim at canola, pork and other food commodities, says the president of Agricultural Producers Association of Saskatchewan (APAS).

Beijing, in recent days, announced retaliatory tariffs on select Canadian farm imports in response to Canadian duties levied back in the fall against Chinese-made electric vehicles, as well as steel and aluminum products. China is hitting Canada with 100 per cent tariffs on canola oil and peas, and 25 per cent tariffs on pork and aquatic products — loosely mirroring Canada’s EV and steel and aluminum levies.

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APAS president Bill Prybylski described the situation as dire for farmers. The tariffs add to already-high global trade tensions, with rounds of tariff announcements by the United States, China, Canada and Mexico.

“These trade disputes are causing tangible economic hardships and anxiety among farmers,” Prybylski said.

Along with tariffs, Prybylski said other industry developments are creating challenges for producers. The APAS president highlighted the recently approved Bunge-Viterra merger, which the organization said raises the prospect of reduced competition in the grain-buying space.

Another concern for the organization is recent decisions by Federated Cooperatives Ltd. to not go forward with a renewable diesel plant and canola crushing plant.

“The retaliatory tariffs from China, ongoing uncertainties in U.S. trade relations, halted value-added processing initiatives, and Canadian supply chain bottlenecks leave farmers exceedingly vulnerable,” Prybylski said.

Chris Davison, president of the Canola Council of Canada, said the tariffs are prohibitively high and the fallout will be felt across his industry.

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He said China is a top market for Canadian canola and represents close to $5 billion in export value.

“The impacts will be widespread and will be felt across the industry, starting with farmers who grow the crop every year and extending beyond there to the companies that provide them with seeds and inputs … to grain companies and processors and ultimately to exporters,” Davison said.

“We’re expecting to work with the Canadian government very quickly to address the situation we face, but also to pursue a resolution to it as expeditiously as possible.”

In a joint statement, international trade and economic development minister Mary Ng, agriculture and agri-food minister Lawrence MacAulay and fisheries minister Diane Lebouthillier said they are “deeply disappointed” with China’s announced tariffs.

“Our hard-working farmers and fishers provide world-class food to Canadians and international trading partners,” the statement read.

“We are steadfast in our commitment to defend Canadian workers and we will stand shoulder-to-shoulder in our support for Canada’s hard-working farmers and fishers in the agricultural and fishing sectors.”

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Saskatchewan Premier Scott Moe said in a social media post following China’s tariff announcement that the province’s canola industry is being “put in the line of fire due to tariffs on Chinese EVs, which nobody wants, to protect North American EVs, which few can afford.”

The new tariffs against Canadian agricultural products are expected to kick in on March 20 — widening Canada’s ongoing trade problems as the country seeks to beat back U.S. President Donald Trump’s stop-and-go tariffs.

This is not the first time Beijing has put Canadian canola in its crosshairs.

In 2019, the country targeted canola export licenses as an economically sensitive pressure point — widely viewed in Canada as a political response to the detention of senior Huawei telecom executive Meng Wanzhou.

— With files from The Associated Press and Michael Joel-Hansen, Saskatoon StarPhoenix

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