South Korea lifts suspension of Canadian wheat imports

South Korea’s flag (Photo by J. Patrick Fischer; CC BY-SA 3.0)

South Korea has lifted its suspension on imports of Canadian wheat and flour after finding no evidence of genetically modified (GM) wheat in shipments from Canada.

The country halted imports just over a week ago after the Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA) confirmed the discovery of an isolated case of GM wheat in southern Alberta in 2017. None of the wheat entered the grain handling or seed system, according to the CFIA.

“Thank you to the Canadian Food Inspection Agency and the Canadian Grain Commission for the strong technical work that has allowed for this re-opening,” says a statement issued by Cereals Canada on Tuesday morning.

The Korean government says it will continue to test shipments of wheat and flour sourced from Canada.

Meanwhile, there’s no update so far on Japan’s suspension of Canadian wheat imports. Japanese officials were in Canada last week to gather information on the case. Cereals Canada says the industry and federal government continue to work with Japan as the country completes its standard due diligence procedure.

Japan imports approximately 1.5 million tonnes of premium Canadian wheat per year, while South Korea buys around 230 thousand tonnes per year.

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Categories: News / Trade / Western Canada