The three-year Chinese ban on Canadian canola has ended, according to the federal government. In a joint statement released Wednesday afternoon, Trade Minister "Mary Ng" and Agriculture Minister "Marie-Claude Bibeau" said that China reinstated market access for two Canadian grain trading companies that had been banned from exporting canola seeds to China since March 2019.

The statement said, "We welcome this decision to lift the restrictions and immediately reinstate the two companies to allow them to export Canadian canola seeds."

"Canada will always strongly support the rules-based international trading system and relevant dispute settlement mechanisms, as well as a science-based approach to resolving such issues."

In March 2019, the Chinese government blocked canola shipments from the two Canadian companies "Richardson International Ltd" and "Viterra Inc" by suspending their licenses, citing the detection of pests in canola shipments.

This move came following the arrest of Huawei's Chief Financial Officer, the Chinese tech giant "Meng Wanzhou," in Vancouver a few months prior.

In September 2019, Canada referred the canola dispute to the World Trade Organization. The WTO dispute settlement panel was formed in November 2021.

Before the trade tensions, the Chinese market accounted for 40 percent of Canadian canola exports. According to the Canadian Canola Council, seed exports to China dropped from $2.8 billion in 2018 before the restrictions, to $800 million in 2019, $1.4 billion in 2020, and $1.8 billion in 2021.

The industry organization estimates that the dispute cost between $1.54 billion and $2.35 billion in lost sales and price declines between March 2019 and August 2020 alone.

"Jim Everson," Chair of the Canadian Canola Council, said in a press statement: "This is a positive step forward, restoring full canola trade with China and ensuring equal treatment of all Canadian exporters by the Chinese administration." "We will continue efforts to nurture and maintain a rules-based trading environment."

Canada is the world's largest producer of canola. It is one of the most widely grown crops in Canada and is currently trading at all-time record levels as the war in Ukraine has driven up agricultural commodity prices.

Canola is primarily used in the cooking oil industry, but can also be used as livestock feed and to make biodiesel fuel.