Alberta farmers caught in the middle of Canada, China dispute
Alberta farmers appear to be caught in the middle of a trade war, as the Canadian and Chinese governments face off on the international stage.
The Chinese government announced a new anti-dumping probe into Canadian canola, in retaliation to the Canadian government's recent tariff on Chinese electric vehicles.
“We just started to turn around where we had started to see about a week of gains and people started to realize this isn't that great of a crop. And then that was all wiped out yesterday,” said Stephen Vandervalk, who farms outside Fort Macleod.
Dumping is when a product is sold to another country at below market value.
China believes Canadian canola is priced low to help get Canadian producers a bigger share of the Chinese market.
“We will certainly participate as appropriate as part of that to demonstrate from our perspective the fair access and competitiveness of Canadian canola in that market,” said Chris Davison, Canola Council of Canada president and CEO.
Canadian canola prices have already taken a major hit just a day after the investigation was announced.
“Yesterday alone was a bit of a down day to start the day, $45 per tonne was wiped off,” said Vandervalk.
“I think we ended up down $22 a tonne. It's a 20 million tonne crop so a billion dollars was essentially wiped out,”
It's the latest problem in what's turned into a difficult month for farmers.
The recent CN and CPKC rail strikes cut off many farmers from being able to transport their products during harvest.
“Now we just add this to the mix. And some of it, the last two issues, the railway and this, were completely avoidable. Of all things we don't need to do is pile problems on,” Vandervalk said.
This isn't the first time China has moved to restrict imports of Canadian canola. In 2019, China banned canola shipments from Richardson and Vitera saying there were pests in shipments.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
DEVELOPING Donald Trump was the subject of 'an assassination attempt,' FBI reports
The FBI said Donald Trump was the target of “what appears to be an attempted assassination” at his golf club in West Palm Beach, Fla., on Sunday.
LIVE UPDATES 2024 Emmy Awards: 'The Bear,' 'Fargo' and 'Hacks' win acting awards
'Shogun,' 'The Bear' and 'Baby Reindeer' at the topo of the queue as the 76th Primetime Emmy Awards arrive on Sunday.
B.C. to open 'highly secure' involuntary care facilities
B.C. will be opening “highly secure facilities” for people with addiction and mental health issues in the province, officials said Sunday.
Calgary police honour 3 Calgarians who helped save Lanny McDonald’s life in airport incident
The Calgary police paid tribute to a trio of Calgarians who saved the life of Lanny McDonald at the airport in February, 2024.
They came from Jamaica for work, now they're homeless and out thousands of dollars in lost wages
Abuse of Canada’s temporary foreign worker program has left a group of carpenters from Jamaica 'destitute' after an Ottawa company refused to pay them for nearly half a year of work.
Montreal bars, restaurants react to Quebec bill to regulate merchant tipping requests
Quebec tabled a bill on Thursday that would regulate how merchants determine suggested tips, forcing businesses to calculate them based on the price before tax. Restaurant staff and management are divided on the policy.
Greater Sudbury resident dies in 5-vehicle crash involving 3 motorcycles near Port Dover
A person from Greater Sudbury died and two other individuals were transported to hospital after a five-vehicle crash near Port Dover, Ont., late Saturday afternoon.
Queen Victoria's favourite Tuscan villa for sale for more than US$55 million
Once a favoured holiday destination for Queen Victoria, and reputedly described in one of the greatest works of Italian literature, the Villa Palmieri is steeped in history and could now be yours – if you have more than €50 million (US$55 million) lying around.
Liberals will let Conservatives hold non-confidence vote 'fairly soon', no intention of proroguing Parliament
The Liberals have no intention of using procedural tactics to delay the Conservatives' promised non-confidence motion, and they have no plans to prorogue Parliament to hold onto power, according to Government House Leader Karina Gould.