加拿大農民爲中國新油菜籽標準做好準備

As they begin to harvest what may be one of the largest canola crops on record, many farmers are growing increasingly concerned over the prospect of a drastically smaller export market as China stands firm on its plan to stall Canadian exports of the seed.

隨着加拿大農民即將可能收穫破紀錄的油菜籽產量，很多農民開始對出口市場縮小的前景越發擔憂，因爲中國立場堅定從而將拖延了加拿大油菜籽的出口。

China – Canada’s largest canola-seed customer, importing an average of four million tonnes per year – is preparing to implement a new standard on Sept. 1 that will require the amount of extraneous plant material, known as dockage, in canola seed exports to make up less than 1 per cent of each shipment.

作爲加拿大最大的油菜籽消費者，每年從加拿大平均進口400萬噸油菜籽的中國準備在9月1號開始實行新的標準，這個新標準規定每批油菜籽出貨量中雜質的比重不得超過1%.

A majority of the sales to China have already stopped ahead of the deadline, said Canola Council of Canada president Patti Miller, leaving many in the industry bracing for a significant hole in the market and potentially lower prices as harvest begins.

加拿大油菜委員會主席Patti Miller稱對中國的大部分出口在截止日期之前已經停止，而隨着農民開始收穫油菜籽，市場需求的下降將可能導致價格的降低。

The new standard would require an increased level of cleaning that Ms. Miller says would be time-consuming and more costly.

Miller稱中國所實行的新標準要求對油菜籽裏的雜質進行更高程度的清理，這將既耗時又費錢。

About 40 per cent of Canadian canola seed exported abroad goes to China, worth a total of about $2-billion.

加拿大出口的油菜籽中有大約40%前往中國，價值約20億美元。

Chinese officials say the new standard is designed to prevent the spread of a fungal disease known as blackleg. They also say the disagreement over canola is a scientific matter that should not be on the agenda when Prime Minister Justin Trudeau visits the country this week ahead of the G20 summit.

中國官員稱新的標準是爲了防止一種叫做黑腿病的真菌性疾病的擴散。他們還稱油菜籽的爭議是一個科學問題，不應該出現在總理特魯多本週的訪華議程上。