February 5, 2010 (Saskatoon, SK) - More than 300 producers and others in the industry participated in two conference calls this week to discuss the state of Canada’s flax industry. Ever since September 2009, when genetically modified materials were confirmed in Canadian flax shipments to Europe, the market for flax has faced several challenges. Saskatchewan producers, who grow almost 40% of the world’s flax, are concerned about the future of the industry and how Canada will clear the system of CDC Triffid, a genetically-modified flax variety that was deregistered in 2001.
The Saskatchewan Flax Development Commission (SaskFlax), in cooperation with the Saskatchewan Ministry of Agriculture, organized the calls. “Flax growers have questions,” said Linda Braun, SaskFlax Executive Director. “We felt it was critical to provide a forum for discussion about the strategies for moving the flax industry forward.”
On the call to discuss the actions and strategies the industry is using to deal with the situation were Barry Hall, President of the Flax Council of Canada, Quinton Stewart, Chairman of Communications for the Flax Council and merchandiser at Viterra, and David Sefton, Director on the SaskFlax Board. Also included were several representatives from the Saskatchewan Ministry of Agriculture, the Canadian Food Inspection Agency, the Canadian Seed Growers Association and spokespersons from the labs that are conducting tests for the presence of genetic modifications in flaxseed.
Audio files from the call will be posted on the SaskFlax website as soon as they are made available from SaskTel.
Following a series of brief presentations, the call was open for direct questions from participants. SaskFlax has posted questions and answers from the call on their website and will continue to add to this list as more information is available.
Go to European Flax Market Questions & Answers
For more information, contact:
Linda Braun, Executive Director
Saskatchewan Flax Development Commission
Saskatoon, SK
Tel. 306-664-1901
Email: saskflax@saskflax.com
