The government of Vietnam has decided to remove restrictions on the export of grain from countries where Canadian creeping thistle is found, local media reported. According to analysts, with this move the country will allow the US, Canada and Europe more direct access to its domestic market.

It is actually a well-known weed with the Latin name Cirsium arvense, but "Canada thistle" is a widely used name overseas, although it is misleading (it is not of Canadian origin).

A revised list of non-Canada thistle quarantine pests will take effect on September 29, according to Cereals Canada. The step crowns efforts by the Canadian government and the agricultural industry and will allow the country to resume traditional wheat supplies to Vietnam.

It is recalled that the phytosanitary restrictions announced in 2018 exposed exporters to the risk of trade sanctions if the cargo was found to contain creeping thistle. As a result, direct trade between Vietnam and other countries has declined - especially from Canada. Canada's wheat exports to Vietnam fell to just over 20,000 tonnes in 2021, down from 200,000 tonnes a year before the cap.

"With this decision, we look forward to the resumption of regular grain trade between Canada and Vietnam," Cereals Canada CEO Dean Dias said in a statement.

The eased import will allow traders to import directly from Canada and Russia, which were previously among Vietnam's top suppliers.

For now, Australia remains Vietnam's biggest wheat importer, but trade with the US has also expanded significantly in recent years after wheat tariffs were lifted in 2021.

"This should be good news for US and Canadian shippers," a Singapore-based grain trader told S&P Global Commodity Insights.

"But the US has been exporting more wheat to Vietnam in recent years anyway, so now maybe there will be more demand for Canadian wheat," he concluded.