The Canola Council of Canada is looking to Europe as trade challenges continue with China.

Canola Council Vice-President of Public Affairs, Brian Innes, says this is the European Union's smallest canola crop in 13 years because of drought and insects.

"The European Union can crush up to 25 million tonnes and they only produced 17 [million] this year. That means an opportunity to export more canola from Canada to Europe."

Innes says there's been reports of more Canadian canola shipments to the E.U.

However, they must be certified as sustainable to meet biodiesel requirements, as Innes says two thirds of all the canola that gets crushed in the European Union is used for biofuel.

He's encouraging growers to start the certification process by talking with their local Viterra, Cargill or G3 elevator, with most farmers already meeting the certification requirements.

He says the biggest criteria for growers is to make sure the land base has been farmed or used as pasture since 2008.

"We've heard a lot in the news about how they're burning down rain forests in the Amazon and Brazil, and that's really what the requirement in the European Union is meant to avoid. "

He says this is the greatest supply of canola ever seen on farms this time of year, and this year's crop will soon be coming off the field and into the bins.

"There is a lot of opportunities for growers to seize these new demands from Europe," he said. "It will help us deal with some of the problems we've got in having our access to China limited."

However, Innes notes there are some small sales of Canadian canola to China, but there isn't any signs of trade access returning to normal in the short term.

He says canola exports from Viterra and Richardson International are still blocked after China suspended their licenses earlier this year, and grain exporters continue to face Chinese buyers unwilling to purchase Canadian canola.