Canada Markets

Statistics Canada reported Canada's total farm cash receipts at $71.713 billion in 2020, up 8.1% from 2019. Total crop receipts are reported at $41.889 billion, up 14.2%, although when cannabis data is stripped out, crop receipts are $37.875 billion, up 10.2% from the previous year. This is the largest year-over-year increase in crop receipts reported in eight years.

With cannabis data eliminated from all calculations in this study, crop receipts account for a total of 55.9% of total farm cash receipts, which compares to the five-year average of 55.1% and the 10-year average of 54.4%. This is close to the 56.5% calculated for 2016, which is the highest percentage calculated in available data going back to 1971.

From the attached chart, we see the growing dominance of the largest crops based on the cash receipt data. Receipts from the country's all-wheat (wheat plus durum) combined with canola total 47.6% of total crop receipts, up from 44.6% in 2019 and is the highest percentage calculated since 1984 when 51.2% of total crop receipts were realized from the sale of these crops.

Looking across the 2020 data for the largest crops, we see canola cash receipts reported at $10.250 billion in 2020, the first Canadian crop to surpass the $10 billion mark. This is up 19% from 2019 and 13.4% higher than the five-year average. Wheat excluding durum receipts totaled $6.119 billion, up 14% from last year and 19.6% from the five-year average, while durum receipts at $1.671 billion are up 25% from 2019 and 35.9% above the five-year average. Both wheat and durum receipts for 2020 are the highest ever reported.

While cash receipts were reported higher for most crops in 2020, cash receipts for both corn and chickpeas in the 2020 calendar year were below both the previous year, or 2019, and the respective five-year average. Corn receipts were down 9% in 2020 from the previous year to $2 billion, while 2.3% lower than the five-year average.

The largest year-over-year jump on a percentage basis was seen for the lentil crop, with receipts increasing 116% to $1.870 billion in 2020, a dollar value that is 35.3% higher than the five-year average. This is still below the receipts reported for 2015 and 2016.

Cliff Jamieson can be reached at cliff.jamieson@dtn.com

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