[Updated]—China’s imports of Canadian canola, which had been surging since June, plunged in December after Beijing opened an anti-dumping investigation into the oilseed, Chinese customs data showed on Monday.
Beijing in September launched a one-year investigation into canola imports from Canada after Ottawa imposed tariffs on Chinese-made electric vehicles, prompting importers fearing retaliatory anti-dumping duties to scale back purchases from Canada.
December shipments from Canada dropped 12 per cent from the same period the year before to 588,181 metric tons.
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That was the first year-on-year decline in seven months and the smallest shipment volume since August.
More than half of Canada’s canola exports make their way to China, the world’s biggest oilseed importer.
China’s total canola imports rose in 2024 to 6.39 million tons compared to 5.49 million tons in 2023, customs data shows. Nearly all of that, at 6.13 million tons, arrived from Canada, amounting to $3.29 billion (C$4.71 billion).
Total Canadian canola exports have been strong since Aug. 1, with China accounting for over 75 per cent of shipments, Farm Credit Canada economists said.
“The export pace is running 10 weeks ahead of schedule,” they wrote in a Jan. 15 report.
“Even if China slows down as expected, Canada will only need to export another 3 million tonnes of canola to reach Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada’s (AAFC’s) export target of 7.5 million tonnes in 2024/25. China’s anti-dumping probe is more likely to impact 2025/26 exports.”
—With files from Glacier FarmMedia
