Latest news with #AlbertaCanola
National Observer
5 days ago
- Business
- National Observer
'This is our livelihood': Farmers prepare for hit from new China canola tariff
Farmer Bill Prybylski says China's planned tariff on canola seed wasn't factored into his business equations this year. The president of the Agricultural Producers Association of Saskatchewan says the 75.8 per cent preliminary duty, announced Tuesday, has already caused canola prices to fall by $1 per bushel. That translates to a loss of about $200,000 for his farm. 'That's a pretty significant financial hit,' said Prybylski, who farms northeast of Regina near Yorkton. 'Most canola producers will be seeing the same thing, just depending on their number of acres and yields.' Canola is considered a high source of farm revenue for Canadian producers, but it's also among the most expensive to grow. Many farmers have begun harvesting their crops and are planning to sell them at local elevators, possibly at lower prices than they were a few days ago. Dean Roberts, who farms near Coleville in west-central Saskatchewan, said canola makes up about a quarter of his operation. 'It's a very important crop and our second largest customer just effectively closed their market to us,' said Roberts, chair of SaskOilseeds. '(The tariff) is very impactful to individual farmers, because this is our livelihood, this is how we feed our families, this is how we keep our operations going.' Andre Harpe, a farmer near Grande Prairie in northern Alberta, said the tariff announcement was an "absolute shock." "After the harvest, then decisions will start being made on how many acres of canola are we going to grow (next year)," said Harpe, who is also board chair of Alberta Canola. China has said the tariff would start Thursday, nearly a year after Beijing launched an anti-dumping probe into Canadian canola. The investigation is in response to Canada's 100 per cent tariff on Chinese electric vehicles. Ottawa has said China has until September, when its investigation formally ends, to make a final decision on the duties, but it can extend the deadline by six months. China's Ministry of Commerce argued Canadian canola companies were "dumping" the product into the Chinese market, hurting its domestic canola oil market. Ottawa and canola farmers have rejected that claim, saying companies are following international rules-based trade. Dumping is a trade practice where exports from one country flood a foreign nation's market with goods at prices lower than what the commodities cost domestically, undercutting local industry. The Canadian Canola Growers Association says the industry contributes more than $43 billion to the country's economy and employs roughly 200,000 people. China is the largest export market for Canadian canola seed, taking up about 67 per cent of Canada's shipments — worth billions of dollars. Agriculture Minister Heath MacDonald and International Trade Minister Maninder Sidhu were to meet Wednesday with canola groups to discuss the issue. The ministers have said they remain ready to speak constructively with Chinese officials to address their trade concerns. Last year, Ottawa imposed its tariff on Chinese-made electric vehicles and 25 per cent tariffs on Chinese steel and aluminum. Beijing retaliated with 100 per cent tariffs on Canadian canola meal and oil. China's latest move on canola seed now means all canola products face levies. Conservative member of Parliament Michelle Rempel Garner said the tariffs were "completely avoidable" and require an immediate response from the Liberal government. "As a western Canadian, I cannot stress how devastating this is to our economy and to our agricultural producers," the Alberta MP told reporters on Parliament Hill. Opposition Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre said in a statement Ottawa should respond by cancelling a $1-billion federal loan it gave to BC Ferries, which is purchasing Chinese-made ships. Manitoba Premier Wab Kinew urged the federal government to support farmers with the electric vehicle revenues it has collected from China. He estimated those tariffs have provided Canada with $100 million, while China's levy has already wiped out $1 billion in canola values. "Let's get some of that money out the door to help our industry here in the West, the same way we've seen other industries supported," he told reporters in Winnipeg. The issue has caused some to talk about western alienation, he added. "A lot of people have said, 'Well, no, you can't lift these EV tariffs because it might piss off (US President) Donald Trump.' But (I think) that's a hypothetical. This thing that we're talking about here that canola producers are facing, this is real." Alberta, Saskatchewan and Manitoba, with assistance from Ottawa, have offered increased supports to producers through the AgriStability farm income stabilization program. It aims to increase compensation rates for farmers should their margins decline. Prybylski said while the program is helpful, it won't be enough to weather the tariff storm. He said he's counting on Ottawa to negotiate a settlement with Beijing. 'The consensus is that these tariffs are in retaliation for the (electric vehicle) tariffs Canada implemented against China. We need the federal government to be at the table,' he said. Producers who've already locked in their canola at a future price on a contract shouldn't expect an immediate hit, Prybylski said. But he worries for those who don't have contracts and need to sell immediately. Roberts said there's not much farmers can do, as many sell their crops around harvest time to generate much-needed cash to pay off inputs and debt. 'We're price-takers in the market,' he said. 'I'm a long way from Ottawa. I'm even further from Beijing. So for me to understand what the right decisions are is very tough. But I do know the implications of my farm gate are very, very real.' This report by The Canadian Press was first published Aug. 13, 2025.
Yahoo
31-05-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Net farm income down in Alberta, across Canada for 2024
Data from Statistics Canada shows total net income for Canadian farmers dropped by about 41 per cent last year. Alberta Canola said higher operating costs and lower crop prices are taking a toll on producers.
CBC
31-05-2025
- Business
- CBC
Net farm income down in Alberta, across Canada for 2024
Data from Statistics Canada shows total net income for Canadian farmers dropped by about 41 per cent last year. Alberta Canola said higher operating costs and lower crop prices are taking a toll on producers.
CBC
20-03-2025
- Business
- CBC
Prairie canola producers brace for 'devastating' 100 per cent tariffs from China
Canola farmers are bracing for impact as China looks to impose hefty tariffs on their industry in response to Canadian tariffs on the country's electric vehicle exports. Just mere weeks away from when farmers plant their first seeds, China is to enact a 100 per cent levy on Canadian canola oil and meal, plus a 25 per cent duty on seafood and pork. "All in all, it's just bad news," said Clinton Monchuck, a fourth-generation canola farmer from Lanigan, Sask. The tariffs come in response to Canada's 100 per cent levies on Chinese-made EVs and a 25 per cent tax on aluminum and steel products. Former prime minister Justin Trudeau said China had claimed an unfair advantage that was hurting Canada's auto industry. It's unclear how consumers will be affected by the tariffs, but industry players say the sticker price of canola oil may not increase in Canada. The federal government has said China's tariffs are unjustified, but it has not announced any concrete plans to help canola farmers. "From the beginning, our focus has been and will continue to be the protection of Canadian workers and the unwavering support of our hard-working farmers," read a Tuesday joint statement from three federal cabinet ministers, including Agriculture Minister Kody Blois. Monchuck said the tariffs pose an existential threat to his family's nearly 120-year-old canola farm. He expects to take a $100,000 hit this year, if the tariffs stay in place. That's without accounting for any other trade actions taken by the U.S., which intends to impose 25 per cent tariffs on all imports from Canada starting in April. China's actions are bound to resurface difficult memories of 2019 for canola farmers, who were hit with similar tariffs after Canadian authorities detained Meng Wanzhou, an executive of Chinese telecom mammoth Huawei, on a warrant from the U.S. "We've gone through this before," Monchuck said. Farmers point the finger at the federal government because the tariffs are a direct response to measures to protect the Canadian auto sector, he said. "It's pretty tough as a farmer, when a government is kind of picking winners and losers," he said. "We happen to be on the losing end of this discussion." In response to the tariffs, leaders from the Prairie provinces have requested action from Ottawa to support farmers. Alberta, Saskatchewan and Manitoba rely heavily on China for canola exports, sending billions of dollars in products overseas each year. An association representing canola growers in Alberta has also asked the federal government to cover losses resulting from the tariffs. The impact of tariffs from China alone "could be potentially devastating," said Karla Bergstrom, executive director of Alberta Canola. The current situation has left many farmers without bids from sellers, Bergstrom said. Canola prices have also plummeted since China announced the tariffs. "It's prohibitive," Bergstrom said. "It will be uncompetitive to sell to China." Alberta Agriculture Minister RJ Sigurdson said he hopes the federal government can reboot talks with China to resolve the trade war. He would not say whether he thought the tariffs on China were a mistake. The governing United Conservative Party set aside $4 billion this year to manage its response to tariffs, up $2 billion from the year before. Speaking to rural leaders, Premier Danielle Smith said Wednesday the province could avoid the worst pain because canola seed, the largest of the province's canola-based exports, is exempted from China's tariffs. "There are going to be some products impacted, but the bulk of what we export is not," she said. Saskatchewan, with a slim $12-million surplus in its budget tabled Wednesday, did not set aside money to help manage the potential impact of tariffs. Manitoba will deliver its provincial budget Thursday.
