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It is clear that this is not an issue of food safety, but a political issue

Canadian beef exports to China so far this year total $63 million. By tonnage, China is the second-largest customer of Canadian pork, totalling more than 283,000 tonnes in 2018; by dollar amount, it stands behind only Japan and the United States, according to Canada Pork International.

According to Guy Saint-Jacques, Canada’s former ambassador to China and a senior fellow at the University of Alberta’s China Institute, Canada exported $250 million worth of meat exported to China in the first quarter, and 45 per cent of it was from Quebec.

“It will have an outsized impact on Quebec,” Saint-Jacques said.

He added that given heightened tensions between Canada and China, and other export disputes it’s highly unlikely, he said, that 188 falsified veterinary certificates fell through the cracks.

“I’ve looked at the press statement issued by the Chinese embassy and it makes no sense. This is a clear example of how China uses phytosanitary reasons to block exports,” said Saint-Jacques. “I think it’s a preposterous argument on the part of the Chinese and it is important that they are doing it on the eve of the G20.”

The Canadian Pork Council in a statement released Tuesday evening, called China “a very important market for Canadian producers.”

“We are aware that Canadian government officials have been in contact with their Chinese counterparts and are hopeful this will lead to a quick resolution,” it added.

Trudeau is set to depart Wednesday for the summit in Japan, where he is expected to rely on U.S. President Donald Trump to raise the plight of the two detained Canadians during a meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping.

Conservative agriculture critic Luc Berthold said the Chinese charge is baseless.

“It is clear that this is not an issue of food safety, but a political issue caused by Justin Trudeau’s incompetence and weakness on the world stage,” he said.

Berthold said Trudeau has to “personally raise this issue” with Xi in at the G20 meeting and demand the trade barriers be lifted.

With files from The Canadian Press

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