March 16, 2012

China will partially lift rapeseed import ban

China will partially remove embargo on imports of rapeseed, allowing selected crushers in major growing areas to import Canadian rapeseed, the state-backed China National Grain & Oils Information Center said Wednesday (Mar 13).

Rapeseed imports had been restricted due to concerns over the blackleg fungus.

China's quarantine bureau will allow eight crushers in the major rapeseed-producing provinces of Inner Mongolia, Jiangsu, Zhejiang and Shandong to import rapeseed, it said in a research note, without providing a time frame.

Another 10 crushers located outside major growing areas--including in Fujian, Guangdong, Guangxi and Liaoning provinces--have also been permitted to continue to import Canadian rapeseed, the CNGOIC said.

Under restrictions in place since 2009, imports of blackleg-infected rapeseed, which is used to make cooking oil and is also called rapeseed, were diverted to areas that don't produce domestic rapeseed, while shipments found to be blackleg-free won't be diverted.

Blackleg is a fungal canker or dry rot disease. It was discovered in some cargoes of Canadian rapeseed in 2009. The quarantine authorities introduced the restrictive measures to prevent the disease from spreading to China's rapeseed growing areas.

China imported 1.26 million tonnes of rapeseed in 2011, down 21%, official data showed. Of the total, 99%, or 1.25 million tonnes, were imported from Canada, a decline of 22% from 2010.