‘Complete upheaval’: Sask. farmers bracing for Chinese tariffs on canola, peas

WATCH: Mick Favel has more on how Chinese tariffs on Canadian canola and peas are affecting producers in Sask.

Saskatchewan farmers may be at the receiving end of tariffs yet again later this month - as China has announced retaliatory measures targeting Canadian canola, pork and other food commodities.

Retaliatory tariffs on Canadian farm imports by Beijing is in response to the federal government’s decision to impose 100 per cent tariffs on Chinese-made electric vehicles (EVs) as well as steel and aluminum products.

Canadian canola and peas face a 100 per cent tariff - while pork and aquatic products were slapped with 25 per cent tariffs.

Jeremy Welter serves as the vice president of the Agricultural Producers Association of Saskatchewan (APAS). He says the canola sector is already moving in a different direction due to the announcement.

“A number of grain buyers have said they’re either going to a full no bid, or they are going to reduce their prices and reduce bids,” Welter explained.

“The canola market has been thrown into complete upheaval.”

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Saskatchewan produces more than half of the canola grown in Canada.

Accounting for 55 per cent of the national total, approximately 10 to 12 million acres of land in Saskatchewan are used to grow the oilseed.

Roughly 90 per cent of all Canadian canola is exported - with China being one of the country’s biggest customers.

In 2024, $4.9 billion of canola went to China.

Welter says if Canadian canola exports to China stop, an abundance of the crop would be created - which would cause severe drops in price.

“You’re going to see some significant reductions of the value of that commodity when you go to sell it,” he explained.

Canola is a highly valued crop and is costly to grow.

March 31 is the crop insurance deadline in Saskatchewan, which gives producers weeks to decide if canola is the right choice this year and years into the future.

“It will be something farmers are going to have to consider how it works in their business plan,” said Tracy Broughton, the executive director of SaskCanola.

“Every farm is different so it’s really hard to predict.”

The new Chinese tariffs against agricultural products are expected to begin on March 20.