Saskatchewan farmers continue to face depressed prices due to canola tariffs

The Saskatchewan Association of Rural Municipalities says canola farmers are facing some of the lowest prices in recent years.

SARM president Bill Huber said it’s a troubling time for producers, with harvest nearly complete and canola sitting in bins across the province. He said this is the time of year when farmers begin marketing their crop to pay bills and sustain their operations, but this year those opportunities are severely limited.

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“We just finished harvest, but the bins are full and the marketplace is closed off. This is not a good situation for farmers right now,” Huber said. “We need access to our markets in order to keep farms financially viable.”

Huber said since the imposition of tariffs stemming from Ottawa’s dispute with China over electric vehicles, not a single shipment of Saskatchewan canola seed, oil or meal has entered the Chinese market.

In a news release, the association said farmers are contending with full storage bins, limited marketing options and incomes that cannot meet financial obligations such as mortgages, crop input costs and operating loans, with no clear resolution in sight.

While the federal government has not yet said whether removing EV-related tariffs is under consideration, canola industry leaders, including farmer representatives, met with Prime Minister Mark Carney last month to discuss the urgent trade issue. During that meeting, stakeholders stressed that resolving the Chinese canola ban will require the removal of tariffs and a political solution.

The issue will be at the top of the meeting agenda as the Saskatchewan Association of Rural Municipalities’ board and policy team heads to Ottawa next week, where representatives will meet with Heath MacDonald, the federal minister of agriculture.