Tongwei Co. Ltd. intends to increase its purchase of Canadian canola meal by up to $240 million annually by 2015. Tongwei believes their imports of Canadian canola could rise to $900 million over the next decade. 

This increased demand for canola meal was facilitated by research funded by the Canadian Government's Economic Action Plan.

"Tongwei's interest in Canadian canola is a perfect example of how the Harper Government's partnership with industry and investments in research are returning more dollars to the farm gate," Agriculture Minister Gerry Ritz said. 

Using funding provided through the Agricultural Flexibility Fund (AgriFlexibility), the Canola Council of Canada has been working with a number of Chinese dairy and aquaculture processing companies, including Tongwei, to demonstrate the superior quality and nutritional benefits of canola meal. As a result, Tongwei intends to increase its use of Canadian canola meal in its aquafeed and to include it in other animal feed rations. In the dairy feeding research it was observed that canola meal is cost effective, has superior nutritional value and contributes to increased milk production in dairy cattle.

In 2010, $1.8 billion worth of canola was exported to China, making it the largest market for Canadian canola. This growing trade relationship creates benefits for both countries.