Farmers on edge as end to canola tariff relief draws near

Most of this year's canola crop is in the bin, but the deal that lowered China's tariff on Canadian canola seed expires December 31st. The Agriculture Producers Association of Saskatchewan was in Ottawa last week meeting with federal and Chinese embassy officials. So while there was no commitment that that extension of the reduction in those tariffs will carry on, there was... I would say a positive messaging from the officials that there's a roadmap going forward. Earlier this year, China removed tariffs from canola meal and peas and lowered tariffs on canola seed to 15%. Bill Pribilski says he expects Prime Minister Mark Carney to head to China soon to negotiate an extended deadline. A US professor who specializes in agriculture economics agrees. The pressure should be on. Provincial and federal governments to be having conversations with Chinese trade representatives about what needs to to fall into place so that. That existing agreement can be extended. Smythe wants to see a formal trade deal with China, ideally for three to five years, so canola isn't caught in the crossfire again. Last time, China's tariffs were paid back for Canada's tariff on electric vehicles. Smythe says the China market is essential because getting into new markets is challenging. We can increase the trade partners as much as we want, but our biggest challenge is the constraint that the Port of Vancouver poses. It's a logistical nightmare. Pribilski agrees. He says it doesn't matter how much farmers produce or what trade deals exist if they can't get the product out. We just have to have the infrastructure and the political will in place to make sure that there are no hiccups in the supply chain. We reached out to the provincial government for comment and did not hear back. Premier Scott Moe traveled to China in January along with Prime Minister Carney to negotiate the current agreement that's set to expire. Ashwarya Duda, CBC News, Saskatoon.