France feeling the impacts of Canada's 2021 drought through mustard shortage

The people of France are feeling the brunt of 2021's drought as mustard supplies seem to be running low in supermarkets across the nation.

France is the top consumer of mustard in the world and has been a staple of french households since the middle ages.

Varieties like Dijon and Reims are processed by international companies but have their seeds mostly grown in Canada, with Saskatchewan and Alberta contributing to the vast majority of that crop.

After last year's drought hit the prairies, only 157 tonnes of mustard seed were sent out, which constitutes an 80 per cent decrease compared to 2020 and a 94.9 per cent decrease from the five-year average.

France has been looking for other exporters, but the current war in Ukraine has limited that drastically.

Local producers, however, are celebrating the fact as they're largely unaffected by the shipping woes of bigger companies.

Yields are expected to recover for the harvest, as Saskatchewan farmers planted about 550,000 acres of mustard seed this year, 40 per cent above the 10-year average. 

Mustard fans across the Atlantic will likely have more of the stuff on their plate by next year.