China has stopped all new purchases of Canadian canola seeds in what some see as retaliation for Canada's arrest of a top executive of Chinese tech giant Huawei.
The Canola Council of Canada said late Thursday exporters are reporting Chinese importers are unwilling to purchase the seeds at this time. In 2018, China bought about 40 percent of Canada's canola exports for a total of $2.1 billion.
Earlier this year, Beijing suspended canola imports from Canadian-based Richardson International Ltd. for what one Chinese official alleged was the detection of hazardous organisms in the company's product.
But David Mulroney, Canada's former ambassador to China, said the blockage of Canadian canola is "absolutely related" to the Huawei arrest. R
elations between both countries have been tense since Canada arrested Chinese executive Meng Wanzhou in Vancouver in early December at the request of the US.
US prosecutors have filed fraud charges against Meng, who is Huawei's chief financial officer and the daughter of its founder.
China has warned of "grave consequences" if Meng is not immediately released. On Dec. 10, it arrested two Canadians in an apparent attempt to pressure the government of Justin Trudeau. A Chinese court also sentenced a Canadian to death in a sudden retrial in December, overturning a 15-year prison term handed down earlier.
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