MacAulay to spend week in China on trade mission

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Federal Agriculture Minister Lawrence MacAulay is headed to China for a week-long trade mission.

Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada says MacAulay will be meeting with representatives from several Chinese companies, including e-commerce giant Alibaba, HeMa, and GFresh, to discuss opportunities for Canadian food products in meetings taking place May 14 to 18.

He will also attend the SIAL China food trade fair, and host a roundtable with representatives of Canadian and Chinese companies.

MacAulay’s itinerary includes a meeting with China’s Minister of Agriculture and Rural Affairs, Han Changfu, “to discuss continued co-operation between the two countries and advocate for expanded market access for Canada’s safe, high-quality products including pork, beef and canola.”

The list of topics to be addressed during the trip could include Chinese approvals for canola traits — an issue that was brought up in media reports during Prime Minister Trudeau’s trade mission to China in December. Several traits have been approved in Canada and awaiting Chinese import approval since 2012.

Monsanto Canada made no reference to the minister’s trip, but announced plans to commercialize one of these canola traits in 2019 on Thursday — the day before MacAulay left for China — with the expectation that China will give the go-ahead to imports by then.

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