‘It’s devastating’: Manitoba farmers react to Chinese canola tariffs

Alex Karpa reports on the impact new tariffs launched by China in response to Canada’s tariff on electric vehicles could have on farmers and consumers.

When David Hamblin heard China is slapping a nearly 76 per cent tariff on imports of Canadian canola, it was a “here we go again” moment for the Manitoba farmer.

“It’s something that we are unfortunately kind of getting used to,” he said. “With these political things that are kind of happening, I don’t think it’s as shocking as these things used to be. It’s unfortunate, but it’s the world we are living in.”

China, which sources nearly all of its supplies of canola from Canada, announced preliminary anti-dumping duties on canola imports on Tuesday, escalating a year-long trade dispute that began with Ottawa’s tariffs on Chinese electric vehicle (EV) imports last August.

The new tariffs, set at 75.8 per cent, will come into effect on Thursday.

“Canada is deeply disappointed with China’s decision to implement provisional anti-dumping duties in its self-initiated investigation into import of canola seed from Canada,” International Trade Minister Maninder Sidhu and Agriculture Minister Heath MacDonald said in a statement Tuesday.

“We do not dump canola. Our hard-working farmers provide world-class food to Canadians and international trading partners. Canadian canola products meet the highest standards, and our inspection systems are robust,” they said.

“Canada is committed to ensuring fair market access for our canola industry and we remain ready to engage in constructive dialogue with Chinese officials to address our respective trade concerns.”

Hamblin says this new escalation in the tariff war between Canada and China is creating uncertainty for canola farmers like himself.

“It’s hit our bottom line significantly, if we were to sell today,” he said. “We don’t know what that number will be down the road. We are hopefully things will prevail.”

MacDonald and Sidhu met with Canadian canola representatives Wednesday to discuss next possible steps.

Canola seed production generated nearly $13 billion in 2024, making it the most valuable field crop in the country.

Farmer Warren Ellis, who is also the chair of Manitoba Canola Growers, said this is a devastating blow to the canola industry.

“Things are still unfolding,” he said. “The challenge now is how do we survive this? How do we improve our cash flows without losing our bottom line? That’s a challenge.”

Ellis says it’s still too early to tell what impact this will ultimately have down the road, but if it continues, it won’t be good.

“Some farmers have a hard time growing other crops,” he said. “Canola makes up a huge part of a lot of farmers income and it’s very important for them.”

Canada is now in trade conflicts with the world’s two largest economies, the United States, and China.

University of Manitoba Agriculture professor Derek Brewin says canola prices are really starting to take a hit.

“On Monday, you could sell your canola for $660 per tonne, and on Tuesday afternoon, it went to $630 per tonne,” he said. “That’s a pretty big drop for a single day on any market move.”

China is the largest export market for Canadian canola seed. According to the Government of Canada, it represents 67 per cent of total canola seed exports, totalling 5.9 million tonnes in 2024, worth approximately $4 billion.

“If they don’t solve the trade dispute, or if they leave this duty in for a long period of time, next spring, farmers won’t seed very much canola,” Brewin said. “If we’re not exporting to China, we’re not exporting quite a bit of our production.”

Hamblin would like to see these trade disputes resolved quickly, as harvest season is right around the corner.

“A month or two down the road, or sooner, hopefully we can see trade progress on all crops and get some of these things ironed out.”

Back in March, China imposed a 100 per cent levy on Canadian canola oil and meal, plus peas, and a 25 per cent tax on Canadian seafood and pork.