Manitoba Agriculture Minister Ralph Eichler is urging Western Canadian canola farmers to stay calm after industry said Thursday that China had stopped buying Canadian canola seed.

“Let’s just keep our heads here, let’s not panic,” Eichler told iPolitics in an interview Friday.

He said the Trudeau government should send a delegation of cabinet ministers to meet with Canada’s Chinese counterparts on the issue “face-to-face,” and it should go “sooner rather than later.” If he were the federal agriculture minister, “I’d be on a plane tomorrow.”

Eichler also urged Canadian officials to continue engaging in testing to ensure there is no scientific basis for China’s actions and seek further clarification from Chinese officials about their concerns.

In Saskatchewan, where spring seeding is just around the corner, Premier Scott Moe said in a statement his government was seeking clarity on the issue from its federal counterparts “during this uncertain time,” adding his government is “very concerned” about what they’re hearing.

He said the province remains hopeful the federal government will continue to engage on a technical level with Chinese officials.

“We have also requested that the federal government elevate their engagement to a diplomatic level to rectify this situation as soon as possible,” Moe said.

The Saskatchewan government has requested a formal meeting with federal Agriculture Minister Marie-Claude Bibeau, International Trade Minister Jim Carr and Foreign Affairs Minister Chrystia Freeland.

The reaction from Western Canada comes after the Canola Council of Canada said late Thursday no Canadian canola seed was being bought by Chinese importers. Forty per cent of Canada’s canola is exported to China, and in 2018, those exports were valued at $2.7 billion.

Thursday’s notice came just weeks after Chinese officials said they had pulled the canola export license from one of Canada’s largest exporters, Richardson International Ltd., because of concerns about “hazardous organisms.” Two days later, the Chinese government also said all Canadian canola exports would face heightened import inspections into China because of pest concerns.

Canadian officials have vehemently refuted China’s claims, insisting they are not based on science. On Friday, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau told reporters in Thunder Bay his government would work with Chinese officials to “demonstrate that canola should continue to flow safely from Canada to China.”

He said federal officials have been in touch with farmers and others affected, and he was “optimistic” a solution to the dispute could be found.

Asked whether he thought the situation could escalate further, Eichler said he “hoped not.” However, he cautioned producers should brace for the possibility of more uncertainty.

“I had a feeling that things might get worse, before it got better,” he said, referring to China’s decision to revoke Richardson International Ltd’s. export permit earlier this month.

“We certainly have to prepare for a lot more of this.”