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| A Western Canadian Canola field (photo from the Canola Council) |
China has ratcheted up both its rhetoric and its actions over the current status of Meng Wanzhou in the Canadian legal system, with the CFO of Huawei Technologies facing extradition proceedings to the United States in the Vancouver courts.
That legal battle which has been running for over three months, will next be heard in May, with Madam Wanzhou, who surrendered her passport, currently required to stay in her home in Vancouver rather in a Canadian prison; a fate somewhat better than the two Canadians that the Chinese government arrested in what seems more than clear to be an act of retribution by the Chinese government.
The incarceration of Michael Kovrig and Michael Spavor in Chinese cells, while the most important of the issues of the moment for the Canadian government at the moment, is not the only concern that is affecting Chinese-Canadian relations.
And looming large on the agenda is the prospect of an impact on Canadian exports to the Asian super power, with the Chinese most recently targeting agriculture for attention
The Chinese officials have sent another message of their unhappiness to the Liberal government of Justin Trudeau by way of Canola, a key crop for western farmers and one that seems to be next on the Chinese action list.
Earlier this week, The Chinese government banned some Canola Shipments through a Winnipeg based company Richardson International, with the Chinese government suspending their shipments owing to what they described as "pest issues" ...
Something that Richardson officials have disputed noting that they are caught up in the diplomatic spat between Ottawa and Beijing.
For a wider look at those international tensions, our Ottawa Observations Archive from our D'Arcy McGee portal makes for a good tutorial.
While the Richardson shipments for the most part flow out of Vancouver, to bring home just how connected Prince Rupert is to the whims of global trade, Canola is just one of a number of agricultural products that is shipped out of grain facilities on the Prince Rupert waterfront.
And any trade chill from China, will surely at some point be felt on the North Coast.
The results for Canola shipments through Prince Rupert so far in 2019 were already down for the first month of January, that even before any Chinese edicts.
So watching the updates from the Port of Prince Rupert through the months may give us some indication, as to just how much of an impact the Chinese move may have on the shipments levels should they expand their prohibition beyond Richardson.
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| Statistics from the Port of Prince Rupert indicated that shipments of canola were already down in January from previous levels, with China now indicating it is looking to threaten some agricultural products, canola numbers will be worth watching to see what is in store for shipments through Prince Rupert. |
With what seems to be an ongoing escalation in the situation, all of the stakeholders on the North Coast, whether the Port, CN Rail or the terminal operators will all be watching the headlines to see which way the trade winds are blowing and if there might be a storm a coming from one of the largest of export destinations for the Port of Prince Rupert.
Items of interest related to Grain shipments can be explored below
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