Canadian farmers may end up paying the price for Justin Trudeau's adventurism
Nijjar at a gurdwara in Surrey in June can have far-reaching implications for ties between the two countries. Many think Trudeau has thrown Canada's national interest under the bus for narrow political gains.
The trade ties between the two countries have started to show signs of frazzling, arguably to Canada's loss.
Trudeau's adventurism is showing an impact on India's import of lentils from Canada.
Canadian lentil sales to India have slowed since he hurled the allegations at India last week, due to fears of reprisal from India that could limit trade, industry sources in both countries told Reuters.
In a letter to Union Commerce Minister Piyush Goyal, Delhi Chamber of Trade and Industry (CTI) on Monday urged the Central government to ban import of lentils from Canada to exert economic pressure on it.
Price pressure on Canadian farmers?
India's annual pulse consumption is estimated at around 23 lakh tonnes of which 15-16 lakh tonnes is produced domestically and the rest is imported from other countries. In the last financial year, India imported 4.85 lakh tonnes of lentils from Canada, worth nearly $370 million and more than half of its total lentil imports.
That makes Canada a significant player in India's food trade.
Indian buyers bought significant supplies of Canadian lentils earlier in the year for delivery after harvest, Kevin Price, senior export merchant at Winnipeg-based crop trader Parrish & Heimbecker, told Reuters. «Obviously we're concerned about making sure (the sales) get executed,» Price said, adding that he's not aware of any cancellations.
«Do they want to take on more now? No. They're taking a wait-and-see attitude.»
Since Trudeau's comments Indian offers for Canadian supplies have dropped 6% to
