Trade

Canola is a trade powerhouse, exporting 90% of production (as seed, oil, and meal) totalling $15.8 billion in 2023.

These exports keep farms successful and help ensure strong rural communities, employment and domestic value-added activities.

What is needed? Trade is vital to canola’s success, making it critical to keep existing markets open while diversifying and growing new ones. Strong, multilateral rules of trade are required to provide predictability in markets and a level playing field. Trade agreements that provide stable access are needed, as well as ongoing efforts to fix market access issues impacting both the sale of canola internationally and farmers’ access to innovation.

CCGA’s policy team is currently focused on the following:

Ensuring a strong, integrated North American market

The The United States is Canada’s leading market for canola, valued at $8.6 billion in 2023 and is the top export destination for canola oil and meal. Mexico is a highly valued market for canola seed valued at $1.0 billion in 2023. A robust North American agriculture market and a strong trading partnership are instrumental to canola farmers' competitiveness. Canada-United States-Mexico Agreement (CUSMA) entered into force in June 2020, strengthening its precursor, the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA), providing farmers with open access and market predictability. As a CUSMA review is set to occur in 2026, preparation and leveraging close trade relations are required to maintain and grow our market presence in the region.

Read our press release

Capitalizing on the Indo-Pacific

Anchored by China and India, the Indo-Pacific is home to 65% of the global population and a growing market for canola. China is one of canola's largest markets while other Indo-Pacific countries provide opportunities for growth and diversification. In 2022, Canada launched an Indo-Pacific strategy with an objective to increase trade, investment, and supply chain resilience including through the first-ever Indo-Pacific Agriculture and Agri-Food Office.

Read our press release

Domestic Demand: Biofuel

As Canada and more global markets choose canola-based biofuels (biodiesel and renewable diesel), the Canadian canola industry has a big opportunity to meet demand. Canola is a high-quality, domestically sourced, sustainable biofuel feedstock that can play a key role in reducing greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions in transportation fuel.

In 2023, canola oil exports to the U.S. increased 40%, following canola oil being approved for use in U.S. renewable fuel production in 2022.

The canola sector is mobilizing to produce and process more canola domestically with canola processing announcements made in 2021 beginning to come online. These investments support growth for Canada by creating stable domestic demand for canola farmers, bringing well-paid jobs to rural communities, increasing value-added exports resulting in economic growth, and helping to reduce GHG emissions.

Championing a free trade agenda

A series of bilateral, regional, and multilateral free trade agreements (FTA) enable and facilitate trade of canola products and drive growth at home. Agreements, such as the Comprehensive and Progressive Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP), provide a more predictable export environment ensuring farmers have access to growing markets and innovation. CCGA supports new FTAs, such as negotiations with Indonesia and the Association of South-East Asian Nations, as well as the full implementation of existing agreements.

Modernizing the World Trade Organization

The World Trade Organization's (WTO) framework underpins global trade. Strong rules facilitate trade, provide certainty, and create more level playing fields. Modernization of current WTO functions would strengthen the WTO's ability to align with and respond to the changing trade landscape and to counter increasing protectionism.

Upholding market access

Agriculture trade is increasingly impacted by non-tariff barriers, resulting in lost profit and market risk and preventing farmers from accessing new, innovative technologies. CCGA advocates for trade-facilitative solutions to enable the trade of products grown through agriculture biotechnology, including new plant breeding techniques, and with crop protection products.

Keep It Clean!

We are in this together. To keep markets open, the crop protection products and biotech seed varieties used in Canada must meet the regulatory requirements of our customer markets. Without the required approvals, shipments containing even the smallest level of unacceptable residues or de-registered varieties can be rejected. The Keep it Clean program outlines steps to ensure our markets remain open and your canola is ready for export.

Visit keepitclean.ca for information on which pesticides and de-registered varieties to avoid.

Partner Organizations

CCGA is an active member of the Canadian Agri-Food Trade Alliance, a coalition of national organizations that advocate for an open and fair international trading environment for agriculture and agri-food.

CCGA is also a member of the International Agri-Food Trade Network (IAFN), an international coalition of farmer and industry associations involved in agri-food at a global level. CCGA works with IAFN on issues related to Codex enhancements (Coalition for an Enhanced Codex), global food policy, and the U.N. Sustainable Development Goals.

Read: CCGA Celebrates 60 years of CODEX on World Food Safety Day.