Canada resumes grain trade with South Korea and Japan

After a little over a month of suspension from trade, the Canadian wheat and cereal industry welcomes the resumption of trade with both Japan and South Korea.

Japan had temporarily suspended trade following the discovery of a handful of genetically modified wheat plants on an access road in southern Alberta.
Cereals Canada extended appreciation to the Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA) and the Canadian Grain Commission (CGC) for the technical and investigative work that has allowed for Asian grain trade to resume.

“Japan is a long-standing, premium customer of Canadian wheat and is the highest grade buyer of Canadian wheat in the world,” noted Cam Dahl, President of Cereals Canada in a press release.  “We appreciate that loyalty and highly value the collaborative nature of our trading partnership,” he stated.

“Cereals Canada wishes to recognize the united way in which the Canadian value chain has approached finding a resolution to the concerns that had caused Japan to temporarily close its borders to Canadian wheat,” concluded Dahl.

Japan imports around 1.5 million tonnes a year of Canadian wheat a year; South Korea imports around 235,000 tonnes a year.

Japan has not found any GM wheat in their system, but will continue to test shipments of wheat sourced from Canada.