Agriculture and Agri-Food Minister Marie-Claude Bibeau has confirmed with RealAgriculture, two Canadian pork exporters have had their permits suspended. The news broke late Wednesday and so far the Agriculture Minister isn’t aware of any other permit agriculture related suspensions at this time other than two canola exporters.
The minister says the reason for the suspensions are related to “incorrect labeling of certain import certificates.” She adds they are working with Chinese importers to resolve the issue, but it might take longer than expected as China is in the middle of a four day holiday which can cause communication delays.
Gary Stordy, director of government and corporate affairs for the Canadian Pork Council, says the two permits that were suspended had to do with the Olymel pork processing plant located at Red Deer, Alta., and another pork plant at Drummondville, Que.
Stordy says the suspension is temporary at the moment and just like the Agriculture Minister said, it does surround the mislabeling of a product.
“It is not unusual, (for this to happen) when products are mislabeled,” he says and adds that regardless of what country Canada ships too, there are import requirements that need to be reached.
As of right now, Stordy says he’s not concerned about future suspensions as long as companies follow proper label protocol.
The recent suspensions come on the heels of China also sentencing a second Canadian to the death sentence over drug charges this year. The man known as Fan Wei as per court documents, was given his sentence on Tuesday for his role in a methamphetamine drug ring.
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