Canada’s farmers fear Huawei-related reprisals

The continuing disagreement between China and Canada over the extradition of Huawei financial director Meng Wanzhou is impacting agricultural exports to China, according to reporting from news agencies.

On 1 March, Canada’s Department of Justice announced that it had ‘issued an Authority to Proceed, formally commencing an extradition process in the case of Ms. Meng Wanzhou,’ and that the decision had followed a ‘thorough and diligent review of the evidence in this case’.

Observers are linking the extradition decision to the recent suspension, by Chinese authorities, of a licence for the import of canola (rape seed), exported by Richardson International Ltd., one of Canada’s largest agricultural producers. China says the suspension is on account of its detection of ‘hazardous organisms’ in imports.

Canada’s Trade Minister Jim Carr told reporters: ‘We continue to ask Chinese officials for any evidence that this canola has any problems that can be proven with any scientific base or any scientific evidence – and so far we’ve heard nothing. It’s a concern because we are a major exporter of canola to the world and we produce the finest canola in the world. It’s a very important part of our trade mix and we want to get to the bottom of it and we want to get to the bottom of it fast.’