Looming 100-per-cent Chinese tariffs on canola leave Sask. farmers concerned

It wasn’t a good weekend for Saskatchewan canola farmers, after China announced a 100-per-cent tariff on canola oil and peas in response to Canadian tariffs placed on Chinese electric vehicles and steel and aluminum products.

The new tariffs are expected to kick in on March 20.

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Tracy Broughton, executive director for SaskCanola, said there weren’t many positives to take from China’s announcement.

“It is specific to canola oil and canola meal, so the canola seed still does have a pathway to China — if there can be a silver lining, I guess that’s it,” she said.

Because of the ever fluctuating trade war between Canada, the United States and China, Broughton said it’s hard to tell right now how the tariffs could impact farmers.

“There’s so many different forces that are impacting the market and most farmers can’t necessarily react and pivot as quickly as maybe the market would suggest, so they do have to plan for a longer term,” she said.

“They’re booking their canola seed for it to grow in the following year, they’re booking it at harvest. From a farmer standpoint, I think it’s just hard to be able to predictably manage their crop rotation.”

Agricultural Producers Association of Saskatchewan (APAS) president Bill Prybylski echoed what Broughton had to say.

“There’s not a whole lot we can do. We’re price takers from the market. As as the market responds to the tariffs and the threat of tariffs, we have to sell our crops to generate the revenue to pay the bills,” he said.

“Every time that these things happen and prices take a hit, it just comes off our bottom line. So I guess, for producers, all we can do is wait and see how things shake out here in the next little bit and hope for the best.”

Broughton said she thinks the tariffs could have a profound impact on Saskatchewan’s canola farmers.

“I think generally tariffs do have a pretty big impact on the economy,” Broughton said. “They are helpful for no one. Tariffs do not stimulate growth in an economy.”

“It’s certainly concerning — seeding is just around the corner, and producers are going to be needing to make huge investments into this crop coming up,” Prybylski said.

“They need to be able to generate revenue to pay the fertilizer bills, to pay for the seed and the crop input.

“The only way we can generate revenue is by selling the products that we that we have on farm and if we’re not able to sell them or forced to sell them at a loss certainly that’s going to hurt the individual farmers, the provincial economy and the national economy,” he added.

Read more:

• Premier Scott Moe has questions for new Liberal leader Mark Carney
• RCMP investigating shooting death of 19-year-old man on Sask. First Nation
• Evan Bray Show panel breaks down impacts of trade war with U.S., China