August Canola Crush Highest on Record for the Month

The Canadian canola crush is off to a strong start for the current marketing year. 

Statistics Canada reported Wednesday that domestic processors crushed 850,529 tonnes of canola in August – the first month of the 2024-25 crop year. That is down a hefty 15.3% from the July all-time high of 1.005 million, but still 2.5% above a year earlier and the largest August crush on record. 

In its August supply-demand estimates, Agriculture Canada projected the full year 2024-25 canola crush at 11 million tonnes, but cautioned the forecast was subject to revision, depending on the speed crush plants under construction become operational. 

Amid increasing North American demand for renewable diesel, canola crush capacity in Canada is set to grow from the current approximately 11.2 million tonnes annually to just over 17 million over the next five years. 

The 2023-24 canola crush amounted to about 11 million tonnes, up 10.7% from the previous year’s 9.961 million and topping Ag Canada’s estimate of 10.7 million. The larger-than-expected 2023-24 crush was likely one of the reasons StatsCan’s August crop production report raised 2023 canola production to 19.191 million tonnes from the agency’s previous estimate of 18.328 million.  

According to StatsCan, the August crush yielded 363,165 tonnes of canola oil, down from 434,490 in July but up from 347,606 in August 2023.