File photo of fresh cherries purchased from an orchard’s roadside stand at Penticton, B.C. (Amy Mitchell/iStock/Getty Images)

B.C. cherries cleared for export to Korea

Canada-Korea free trade pact a step ahead on lower tariffs

Canada’s seven-year-old free trade pact with South Korea already provides for reduced tariffs on cherries from British Columbia — a commodity that’s just been approved for export to Korea for the first time starting this month. Canadian agriculture and food safety officials announced Aug. 10 that talks with Seoul on import rules and certifications had […] Read more

File photo of Korean braised short ribs. (Sungsu Han/iStock/Getty Images)

Korea suspends Canadian beef imports after BSE case

No other countries yet considering suspensions, CFIA says

Winnipeg | Reuters — South Korea has suspended beef imports from Canada, which last week reported its first case of bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE) in six years, the Canadian Food Inspection Agency said Wednesday. South Korea, the fourth-largest beef importer in the world, is seeking more information about the case before lifting its suspension, the […] Read more



No Canadian wheat is unloading in Tokyo or any other Japanese port after a few GM wheat plants were found growing in an Alberta ditch. But officials here say they expect Japan will soon be back in the market, thanks in large part to strong relationships built on openness and trust.

Japan still trusts Canadian wheat system, say officials

Country is a top wheat customer and will continue 
to be despite GM wheat incident, they say

Reading Time: 5 minutes Relationships still matter when it comes to trade, and Alberta officials say those will be key in re-establishing wheat sales with one of the country’s biggest buyers. No sooner had news broken that a small number of genetically modified wheat plants had been found in Alberta than industry reps were arranging to meet with officials […] Read more


Namdaemun, the “Great Southern Gate” in the walls that once surrounded the city of Seoul. This photo was taken before a 2008 fire damaged the gate’s wooden structure, which was restored by May 2013. (CIA.gov)

South Korea lifts suspension on Canadian wheat sales

Seoul | Reuters — South Korea’s food ministry on Tuesday said it had lifted a temporary suspension on sales of Canadian wheat as it had not discovered any unapproved genetically modified strains during tests on imports. South Korea suspended sales of Canadian wheat last week after Canada announced the discovery in mid-2017 of an unapproved […] Read more

(Photo courtesy Canada Beef Inc.)

South Korea halts sale of Canadian wheat, flour

Seoul | Reuters — South Korea has suspended the sale of wheat and flour from Canada after Canadian officials announced last week the discovery in mid-2017 of an unapproved genetically modified trait in southern Alberta. “We will only allow sale of wheat products that are confirmed not to contain unapproved genetically modified wheat,” South Korea’s […] Read more