A couple weeks ago, there was hope for a quick resolution to Mexican import restrictions on Canadian canaryseed. Unfortunately, there has been limited progress in resolving the problem. Canaryseed exporters in this province say that about half of the canaryseed railcars stopped at the Mexican border have been allowed to enter, but the status of the product now in Mexico remains unclear. A couple weeks ago, there seemed to be a willingness at the ministerial level in Mexico to forge a new agreement on weed seed levels in Canadian canaryseed, particularly in regard to wild buckwheat. That willingness has not been apparent within the Mexican bureaucracy. Exporters close to the situation say there have been communication breakdowns between Mexican and Canadian officials and there’s no estimating when exports will resume. In the meantime, canaryseed is only sporadically being purchased from farmers and prices are soft. Mexico is usually the top customer for our canaryseed and it won’t be a normal market until they’re back in. I’m Kevin Hursh.
DynAgra, an independent Western Canada-based Company, is dedicated to providing growers with the tools to manage the risk and maximize the profitability of their farm business through the continued innovation of agricultural products and services. We are committed to developing and providing growers with the latest in precision agronomics, variable rate technology, soil fertility, crop protection, fertilizers, custom application and financial solutions.
Tags: ag products, ag services, agricultural products, agricultural services, Canadian canaryseed, crop protection, custom application, Dynagra, Fertilizer, fertilizers, financial solutions, Mexico, precision ag, precision agronomics, soil fertility, Variable Rate Technology, VRT, wild buckwheat
The Canadian Food Inspection Agency has received notification from Mexico that all imports of Canadian canaryseed will be held and tested for the presence of quarantine weed seeds. Specifically, Mexico is looking for wild buckwheat and they have indicated that the detection of just one wild buckwheat seed will result in rejection of the canaryseed shipment. The CFIA tests every consignment for weed seeds prior to issuing a phytosanitary certificate, but Canada won’t be able to meet the zero tolerance Mexico is now apparently enforcing. There are herbicides that control wild buckwheat in canaryseed, but there are still seeds that show up in the production. Canadian cleaning plants remove weed seeds including wild buckwheat, but the cleaning isn’t perfect. Often there are one or two and even a dozen wild buckwheat seeds showing up in a 100 gram sample. Mexico is an important market for Canadian canaryseed, the vast majority of which is produced in Saskatchewan. Until Mexican officials can be convinced that there zero tolerance is unworkable, it appears that market will be closed. We’ve exported canaryseed to Mexico for many years and it isn’t clear why this is now a problem. This is another example of how a zero tolerance can mess up market access. I’m Kevin Hursh.
DynAgra, an independent Western Canada-based Company, is dedicated to providing growers with the tools to manage the risk and maximize the profitability of their farm business through the continued innovation of agricultural products and services. We are committed to developing and providing growers with the latest in precision agronomics, variable rate technology, soil fertility, crop protection, fertilizers, custom application and financial solutions.
Tags: agricultural products, agricultural services, Canadian canaryseed, Canadian Food Inspection Agency, Canaryseed, CFIA, crop protection, custom application, Dynagra, exports, fertilizers, financial solutions, Mexico, phytosanitary certificate, precision agronomics, soil fertility, Variable Rate Technology, weed seeds, wild buckwheat
