Canada is the world's largest rapeseed grower and major wheat producer, but its supply of staple crops is expected to decline by 26 per cent as a result of a significant reduction in crop yields and stocks due to a dry climate.
The Canadian Agriculture and Agricultural products Association said in a monthly report on Thursday that grain and rapeseed exports are expected to fall sharply in the sales year that begins on August 1, and inventories will fall due to a shortage of supplies. As of the end of July, nearly 3/4 of Canada's agricultural planting areas were unusually dry or in a state of drought.
It is understood that the unstable global climate is pushing the prices of major crops, including wheat, to multi-year highs. At a time when food supply in Canada has fallen sharply, food prices in the country are expected to remain high, while consumers will continue to bear the pressure of rising food prices.
The Canadian government said there was still considerable uncertainty in production and yield forecasts, stressing that the total supply of major crops was expected to fall sharply because inventory levels would remain low and yields would be low.
The Canadian Agricultural and Agricultural products Association expects to harvest 71.8 million metric tons of major farmland crops this year, down 27 percent from 2020-2021. Total supply will fall to 85.4 million tonnes, while inventories at the end of the year are expected to be only 6.7 million tonnes, down 36 per cent from a year earlier.
Rapeseed production is expected to be 15 million tons, down 20 per cent from the same period last year; the association expects to harvest 20.2 million tons of wheat, down 43 per cent from the same period last year.