Canola agreement Canada and China fails

"In a briefing from the Canadian delegation that is in China, we were told that no agreement has been reached," said Debbie Belanger, a spokesperson for the Winnipeg-based Canola Council. "The Chinese officials also were not willing to extend the deadline to implement the restrictions."

The Canadian delegation remains in China and will continue efforts to resolve the issue, she said. "Canada over the past 10 years has shipped on average one million metric tons of canola to China without any problems regarding the blackleg disease," Belanger said, adding that during the 2008-09 crop year 2.8 million tonnes of Canadian canola were exported to China without incident.

Blackleg is a serious plant disease of canola that can result in significant yield loss in susceptible varieties. Caused by the fungus Leptosphaeria Maculans, it commonly occurs in canola-growing regions.

[Source: Resource News International]