China hits Canada with anti-dumping probe on canola imports, Ottawa deeply concerned

China said on Tuesday it planned to start an anti-dumping investigation into canola imports from Canada, after Ottawa moved to impose tariffs on Chinese electric vehicles, lifting prices of domestic rapeseed oil futures to a one-month peak.

Canadian Farm Minister Lawrence MacAulay said the move was "deeply concerning." In a post on the X social media network, he said Ottawa was closely following the case and would defend and support the farm sector.

Canada, following the lead of the United States and European Union, announced last week a 100% tariff on imports of Chinese electric vehicles and a 25% tariff on imported steel and aluminum from China.

"China strongly deplores and firmly opposes the discriminatory unilateral restrictive measures taken by Canada against its imports from China despite the opposition and dissuasion of many parties," a commerce ministry spokesperson said in a statement.

The ministry said China will also initiate an anti-dumping investigation into some Canadian chemical products.

More than half of canola produced in Canada makes its way to China, the world's biggest oilseed importer. Canola, also called rapeseed for certain variants, is used as a cooking oil and in a wide range of products including renewable fuels.

The Canola Council of Canada said it was confident that China's probe would show that Canadian producers were playing by the rules. In a statement, it said Canadian exports of canola to China last year totaled CA$5.0 billion ($3.7 billion).

China's rapeseed meal futures on the Zhengzhou Commodity Exchange jumped 6% to 2,375 yuan ($333.56) per metric ton following the announcement, hitting its highest since Aug. 6.

The ICE canola contract for November delivery dropped to its daily limit of $45,