Canola Council of Canada (CCC) President Jim Everson was in Japan last week meeting with key industry leaders.

He was joined by Federal Agriculture Minister Marie-Claude Bibeau, who was also in Japan attending the G20 Ministerial Meetings.

Everson was pleased to hear that Bibeau met with her Chinese counterpart to discuss the ban on canola seed.

"I think it's very positive that she was able to engage the Chinese minister of agriculture and talk about Canada's concerns with respect to China not really sharing information that's necessary to really get to the bottom of these issues they've raised on canola quality," said Everson. "We're pleased that she was able to have that interaction and we still hope that China will be able to be more forthcoming in terms of those challenges."

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau admitted that China's blockade on Canadian canola seed is likely related to the ongoing trade war between China and the U.S.

"We certainly are really confident of the quality of our canola," commented Everson. "It was interesting that our second biggest market now for seed in most recent years is Japan and the discussions that we've had with the Japanese recently, including just this week, there is no concern raised about similar kind of concerns that China has with respect to the quality of Canadian canola seed. It would appear that there are other issues at foot here besides quality and so I'm pleased that the Prime Minister was able to call that out and we'll continue to pursue this agenda as much as we can with China."

Everson commented further on the trading relationship that Canada has with Japan.

"We have a very good, open and candid discussion with our valued clients in Japan and that's really a terrific environment for our industry because there's a lot of sharing of information and it means a very predictable and mutually beneficial trade environment, which is really what you're looking for in the international grains and oilseeds trade business."