Canola Crush Pace Slowing to Near Expectations

After initially holding up relatively well through the first few months of the 2021-22 crop year, the pace of the Canadian canola crush has now slowed to near expectations.

Statistics Canada on Thursday reported that domestic processors crushed 629,153 tonnes of canola in February, down from 651,282 in January and more than 168,000 tonnes or 21% below the same month a year earlier.

With the decline in February, the total crush so far in the 2021-22 crop year (August through February) amounted to 5.02 million tonnes, more than 1 million or 17.3% below the same period a year earlier. With supplies severely constrained by last year’s drought on the Prairies that slashed yields by about one-third, Agriculture Canada is projecting the full year 2021-22 canola crush at 8.5 million tonnes, a drop of 18% from 2020-21.

Through August, September and October, the crush was only running about 9% below the year earlier level. Since December, however, the crush pace slowed by nearly one-quarter compared to the same three months the previous year.

Canola oil production in February totalled 262,732 tonnes, down from 271,629 in January and 346,410 in February 2021. February Meal production came in 377,783 tonnes, versus 386,822 in January and 453,936 in the same month last year.