Canola Council of Canada is concerned with Mexico's decision on bio-technology

Earlier this month, the U.S. filed a dispute settlement consultation request under the Canada-United States-Mexico Agreement (CUSMA) based on Mexico's decision to ban the use of biotechnology corn in tortillas and dough.

Mexico's president says they also plan to gradually substitute the use of biotechnology corn in all products, and reject applications for the importation and sale of certain biotechnology products.

On Friday, Canada announced that it would be a third party in the claim.

Chris Davison, vice-president of stakeholder and industry relations with the Canola Council of Canada says they support Ottawa's decision.

He notes Mexico is a leading market for Canadian canola. 

"Historically, Mexico has been one of the world's main importers of GM crops. If we go back a few years ago, we started to see some changes in their regulatory system in terms of a lack of approvals for products of ag biotechnology. So that's where the interest in the file comes from."

Canola is Canada's largest agri-food export to Mexico, valued at approximately $1.6 billion in 2022.