By Rod Nickel
OTTAWA, March 10 (Reuters) - Canada is urging the Chinese
government to stick to scientific facts in decisions on trade as
Beijing plans to toughen its standard on Canadian canola
shipments, Canadian Agriculture Minister Lawrence MacAulay said
on Thursday.
China's quarantine authority, AQSIQ, notified the Canadian
Food Inspection Agency last month that it would allow no more
than 1 percent foreign material, called dockage, in canola
shipments starting April 1. The current allowable range is 2
percent to 2.5 percent.
Exporters say the new standard by Canada's biggest canola
export market will be difficult and costly to meet.
"I understand fully. It's worth C$2 billion ($1.49
billion)in canola trade to China," MacAulay told Reuters. "All
our trading partners, we want to make sure the decisions they
make are science-based decisions.
"Hopefully, it will be resolved."
Industry group Canola Council of Canada has said the dispute
is over differing views about the risk of transmitting to
Chinese fields the common fungus blackleg, through dockage. Some
traders in both countries say the real issue is that China has
ample stocks of rapeseed oil and wants to slow imports.
The countries have collaborated for years on research of
blackleg after China raised concerns in 2009.
No Canadian minister has yet discussed the issue with a
Chinese counterpart, MacAulay said, adding that communication is
between the Canadian Food Inspection Agency and AQSIQ officials.
Canola, also known as rapeseed, is crushed mainly to produce
vegetable oil. Canada is the world's biggest canola exporter.
($1 = 1.3379 Canadian dollars)