Canada's recently appointed agriculture minister said the federal government is pressing China to provide verification of its claims that Canadian canola exports have been contaminated by harmful organisms. China has been blocking some imports of canola from Canada due to what it describes as fears over contamination. China's customs administration later said in an online statement that four of its offices had discovered a variety of pathogens in the Canadian canola. Canada exported more than $5 billion worth of canola last year, with nearly half of it destined for China, according to the Canadian Canola Growers Association. "If Richardson can't buy and move it and send it to China, farmers are to be left with it here in Canada," he told CBC News.

Source: CBC News March 12, 2019 21:23 UTC