Mustard, Peas Lead the Way Down for Special Crops Stocks

Mustard and peas led the way down as total nationwide stocks of all Canadian pulse and special crops were lower on Dec. 31 compared to a year earlier.

At just 47,000 total on-farm and commercial stockpiles of mustard as of the end of December were down more than 57% from the previous year, while pea stocks plummeted 42.5% to 1.629 million tonnes. For mustard, it was the lowest December stocks level in record going back to 1999. Pea stocks were the lowest since 1.5 million in December 2007.

On-farm pea stocks fell 46.7% to 1.3 million tonnes, while commercial stocks fell 13.9% to 309,500 tonnes. On-farm mustard stocks were down 75.5% to just 22,000 tonnes but commercial stocks actually increased 5,000 tonnes to 25,000.

National lentil stocks as of Dec. 31 were reported at 1.182 million tonnes, down 670,000 or 36.1% from the previous year and the lowest since 826,000 in 2009. On-farm lentil stocks declined by 38.5% to 1 million tonnes and commercial stocks fell 13.6% to 146,200 tonnes.

At 260,000 tonnes, total Dec. 31 flax stocks were down 31% compared to a year earlier and the lowest on record going back to 1980, a big reason why prices reached above $40/bu in some parts of the Prairies earlier this marketing year. On-farm flax stocks were down by on-third to 206,000 tonnes.

Total canary stocks as of Dec. 31 came in at 77,000 tonnes, down 48,000 or 38.4% from the previous year while chickpea stockpiles declined 29.2% to 292,000 tonnes.

Sunflower stocks held up relatively better, easing just 3.6% compared to a year earlier at 158,000 tonnes as of Dec. 31.