Saskatchewan’s agri-food exports to India shot up more than 71 percent last year despite tense diplomatic relations between Canada and the south Asian country.
Exports of Saskatchewan lentils and peas to India, described as the province’s “largest pulse market,” experienced “significant growth” by the end of 2023 compared to the previous year, Agriculture Minister David Marit said in a press release.
“Our agriculture producers are among the best in the world at supplying safe, nutritious, and sustainably grown products,” Mr. Marit said. “We want to help our companies and producers remain profitable and competitive by reinforcing our global links with key trade partners in support of Saskatchewan’s long-term economic goals.”
Saskatchewan’s total agri-food export volume to India ranked second in year-over-year growth behind Nigeria and sixth overall among the province’s agri-food export markets in 2023, bringing in $712 million.
Saskatchewan’s exports have grown by more than 52 percent over the past decade and accounted for 26 percent of Canada’s total exports to India in 2023, which reached a value of $5.1 billion, the March 6 press release said.
Saskatchewan Premier Scott Moe led a delegation to India last month in a bid to grow trade opportunities between Saskatchewan and India.
Strained Relationship
The visit occurred despite the ongoing strained relationship between Canada and India. Tensions arose last year after Prime Minister Justin Trudeau accused the Indian government of being involved in the fatal shooting of a Canadian citizen and Sikh leader in British Columbia.Mr. Nijjar, a vocal supporter of the Khalistan movement that advocates for a separate Sikh homeland in India’s Punjab region, was gunned down in June 2023 by two masked men in the parking lot of Surrey’s Guru Nanak Sikh Gurdwara, where he was president.
The prime minister told the House of Commons last September that intelligence services were investigating “credible” information about “a potential link” between India’s government and the fatal shooting of the Sikh community leader.
India’s government denied the accusation calling it “absurd and motivated.”
More than 40 Canadian diplomats were forced to leave India just weeks later after the country revoked their diplomatic immunity.
India said it was seeking “parity in mutual diplomatic presence” between New Delhi and Ottawa, in an Oct. 20 statement, citing tensions in bilateral relations and Canada’s significantly larger diplomatic presence in India.
Foreign Affairs Minister Mélanie Joly said the Indian government’s decision to revoke diplomatic immunity of Canadian missions was “completely unreasonable and escalatory,” while Mr. Trudeau described the move as contrary to international law.
The diplomats have yet to return.
Mr. Trudeau said in December that he chose to reveal a possible link between the Indian government and the killing of Mr. Nijjar to “put a chill” on India amid safety concerns in the Sikh community.
The prime minister, in a year-end interview with The Canadian Press, said the Sikh community in British Columbia was worried about what could happen next and that his public statement was intended as an extra “level of deterrence” to keep Canadians safe.
He said he expected the information to be published in the media and wanted Canadians to hear directly from him that the government was on top of the situation.
