canola seed
 
WINNIPEG, MANITOBA, CANADA — During a cross-Canadian canola tour, the Canola Council of Canada (CCC) provided five experts from China’s livestock and aquaculture industry with first-hand learning experience on Canadian canola meal.

“This was a great opportunity to showcase the quality and value of Canadian canola meal to the Chinese delegates,” said Jim Everson, president of the CCC. “Connecting with key influencers helps ensure that processors and end-users in China are more aware of canola’s superior qualities and builds lasting relationships in this important export market.”

The CCC-hosted tour began with a port tour in Vancouver to see how canola seed and meal move off shore and concluded in Sherbrooke, Quebec, at the Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada Research Centre. Along the way, the group toured canola farms and learned from academics at both the University of Saskatchewan and the University of Manitoba. Participants included aquaculture researchers, a swine nutritionist, the director of China’s Animal Husbandry Group and a commodity trader.

“Another important part of the tour was highlighting the decades of research on canola meal usage,” said Brittany Dyck, the CCC’s canola meal manager who guided the tour.

Delegates learned from researchers at several University of Saskatchewan facilities such as the Rayner Dairy Research and Teaching Facility and Canadian Feed Research Centre, as well as the University of Manitoba’s Department of Animal Science.

“This complements the various research and demonstration trials we have done in China to demonstrate how Canadian canola meal fits into the livestock and aquaculture rations of Chinese producers,” Dyck said.

After the United States, China is the largest export market for canola and canola products. In 2017, exports to China were worth C$3.6 billion — including 4.5 million tonnes of seed, 688 thousand tonnes of oil and 1 million tonnes of meal. Canola meal exports to China continue to grow.

The Canola Council of Canada is a full value chain organization representing canola growers, processors, life science companies and exporters.

“Keep it Coming 2025” is the council’s plan to ensure the canola industry’s continued growth, demand, stability and success — achieving 52 bushels per acre to meet global market demand of 26 million  tonnes by the year 2025.