OTTAWA - CANADA is confident it can resolve its dispute with China over China's refusal to accept canola with blackleg disease without seeking World Trade Organization action, Agriculture Minister Gerry Ritz said on Wednesday.

Ritz said he met with the Chinese ambassador to Canada on Tuesday.

'It's way too soon to (seek a WTO dispute settlement panel),' Ritz said in Ottawa. 'I think we can resolve this long before a panel would be required.

Ritz said China is using its refusal of blackleg canola to decrease its canola inventory.

Blackleg disease is commonly found in Canadian canola, but is no longer a major threat to yields because of resistant varieties. It is already present in China. -- REUTERS