China took advantage of the fall in canola prices in Canada

07-May-2025 06:17 PM

Winnipeg. Although the Chinese federal government had announced a 100 percent customs duty on the import of value-added canola products from Canada—specifically canola oil and canola meal—effective for contracts made after 7 March 2025, Chinese importers acted quickly to benefit from the situation.

They anticipated the policy shift and, taking advantage of lower offer prices from Canadian exporters, imported 4.71 lakh tonnes of whole canola from Canada in March. This brought the total canola imports from Canada to China to 10.26 lakh tonnes in the first quarter of 2025.

In February 2025, China imported only 1,61,645 tonnes of Canadian canola, as imports of canola oil and meal were still strong.

However, with the coming change in policy, March saw a strategic pivot to whole canola imports, raising the volume to 4,71,757 tonnes.

This was the highest monthly import of Canadian canola into China since October 2024 and even exceeded the 4,49,074 tonnes imported in March 2024.

In the January–March 2025 quarter, China was the top destination for Canadian canola exports at 10.20 lakh tonnes. Japan followed with 4.79 lakh tonnes, and Mexico ranked third with 2.51 lakh tonnes. This data may be updated when April figures are released on June 5.

The US Department of Agriculture (USDA), in its April report, acknowledged the large volume of Canadian canola exports to China.

It revised its earlier estimate of Chinese imports from 3 million tonnes to 4 million tonnes for the 2024-25 season. However, this revised estimate still appears to underestimate actual volumes.

From August 2024 to March 2025 alone, Canada exported 37.13 lakh tonnes of canola to China, suggesting that the USDA's full-season projection is likely much lower than the final figure will be.