Japan suspends sale of Canadian wheat after GMO grain found in Alberta

Alberta Economic Development and Trade Minister Deron Bilous will hold a news conference Friday afternoon about Japan’s suspension of Canadian wheat shipments. (Global News will livestream the news conference in the video player above.)

Japan’s farm ministry said on Friday it has suspended its tender and sale of wheat from Canada after grain containing a genetically modified trait was discovered last summer in southern Alberta.

The Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA) said on Thursday the wheat containing a genetically modified trait, developed by Monsanto Co. to tolerate weed-killer Roundup, was discovered in Alberta.

READ MORE: Genetically modified, herbicide-tolerant wheat found in southern Alberta

The CFIA said it was notified by the Alberta government about the plants surviving spray treatments on Jan. 31.

“(The wheat plants) were found on an access road in Alberta that survived a spraying treatment for weeds,” the CFIA said in a statement. “When the CFIA was notified of this finding, CFIA scientists conducted tests to determine why the wheat survived.”

The agency recently completed testing on the plants, which confirmed the wheat was herbicide-tolerant and genetically modified, something not approved for commercial use in Canada.

“We are suspending the tender and sale of Canadian wheat until we confirm that the Canadian wheat that Japan buys contains no GMO,” an official at the Japanese farm ministry said.

Canada is one of the world’s largest wheat exporters. While other crops such as corn and soybeans have been widely genetically modified to improve yield or withstand threats, GMO wheat has not been approved anywhere for commercial production because of consumers’ concerns.

READ MORE: World Food Prize goes to genetically modified crop researchers

Officials with Japan’s ministry of agriculture, forestry and fisheries are scheduled to visit Canada next week to seek more information, said Cam Dahl, president of industry group Cereals Canada, whose members include Cargill Ltd. and Richardson International.

He said he is concerned that South Korea and China may be next to suspend Canadian wheat imports. In 2016, Japan and South Korea temporarily suspended U.S. wheat imports after a similar GMO wheat finding.

Losing Japanese buyers, who pay a premium for high-quality, high-protein wheat, hurts Canada and creates opportunities for U.S. and Australian wheat exporters, Dahl said.

Japan’s move also leaves an undetermined volume of Canadian wheat already loaded on vessels needing to find a new market, possibly at bargain rates to Indonesia or Bangladesh, Dahl said.

The CFIA did not disclose the exact location of where the wheat was found, but said it will work with the area landowner to monitor the area over the next three years.

— With files from Reuter’s Yuka Obayashi in Tokyo and Rod Nickel in Winnipeg, and Global News