​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​Canola is a trade powerhouse, exporting 90% of production (as seed, oil, and meal) totalling​ $14.4 billion in 2022. ​These exports keep farms successful and help ensure strong rural communities, employment and domestic value-added activities.

What is needed? Trade is vital to canola’s success, making it critical to keep existing markets open while diversifying and growing new ones. Strong, multilateral rules of trade are required to provide predictability in markets and a level playing field. Trade agreements that provide stable access are needed, as well as ongoing efforts to fix market access issues impacting both the sale of canola internationally and farmers’ access to innovation.

CCGA’s policy team is currently focused on the following:

Ensuring a Strong, Integrated North American Market

The United States and Mexico are the leading markets for Canadian canola. A robust North American agriculture market and a strong trading partnership are instrumental to canola farmers' competitiveness. Canada-United States-Mexico Agreement (CUSMA) entered into force in June 2020 strengthening its precursor, the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA), and providing open access and market predictability for farmers. 

Read our press release: CUSMA Coming Into Force an Important Milestone for Canadian Canola Trade (​July 2020).

Capitalizing on the Indo-Pacific 

Anchored by China and India, the Indo-Pacific is home to 65% of the global population and a growing market for canola. China is one of canola's largest markets while other Indo-Pacific countries provide opportunities for growth and diversification. In 2022, Canada launched an Indo-Pacific strategy with an objective to increase trade, investment, and supply chain resilience including through the first-ever Indo-Pacific Agriculture and Agri-Food Office. 

Read our press release: Growers Welcome Investment in Indo-Pacific Trade Office (November 2022).​

Championing a Free Trade A​genda 

A series of bilateral, regional, and multilateral free trade agreements (FTA) enable and facilitate trade of canola products and drive growth at home. Agreements, such as the Comprehensive and Progressive Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP), provide a more predictable export environment ensuring farmers have access to both markets and innovation. CCGA supports new FTAs, such as negotiations with Indonesia and the Association of South-East Asian Nations, as well as the full implementation of existing agreements. 

Modernizing the World Trade Organization

The World Trade Organization's (WTO) framework underpins global trade. Strong rules facilitate trade, provide certainty, and create more level playing fields. Modernization of current WTO functions would strengthen the WTO's ability to align with and respond to the changing trade landscape and to counter increasing protectionism.

Upholding Market Access

Agriculture trade is increasingly impacted by non-tariff barriers, resulting in lost profit and market risk and preventing farmers from accessing new, innovative technologies. CCGA advocates for trade-facilitative solutions to enable the trade of products grown through agriculture biotechnology, including new plant breeding techniques, and with crop protection products. ​

Keep It Clean!

We are in this together. To keep markets open, the crop protection products and biotech seed varieties used in Canada must meet the regulatory requirements of our customer markets.  Without the required approvals, shipments containing even the smallest level of unacceptable residues or de-registered varieties can be rejected. The Keep it Clean program outlines steps to ensure our markets remain open and your canola is ready for export.

Visit keepitclean.ca  for information on which pesticides and de-registered varieties to avoid.

Partner Organizations

CCGA is an active member o​f the Canadian ​Agri-Food T​rade Alliance, a coalition of national organizations that advocate for an open and fair international trading environment for agriculture and agri-food.

CCGA is also a member of the International Agri-Food Trade Network (IAFN), an international coalition of farmer and industry associations involved in agri-food at a global level. CCGA works with IAFN on issues related to Codex enhancements (Coalition for an Enhanced Codex​), global food policy, and the U.N. Sustainable Development Goals.

​​Read: CCGA Celebrates 60 years of CODEX on World Food Safety Day.