Canada Markets

Rapid growth in soybean production on the Canadian Prairies has opened new marketing channels for the crop from western locations. Soybean exports are the fourth largest grain export from Canada, with an estimated 3.359 million metric tonnes exported in the 2012/13 crop year. Production in Western Canada is reported by Statistics Canada as growing from 242,200 metric tonnes in 2008, all in Manitoba, to an estimated 1.0315 mmt produced in 2013, with 909,000 mt in Manitoba and 122,500 mt grown in Saskatchewan.

This trend has lead to a sharp increase in soybean exports shipped direct from Prairie elevators as well as through terminals on the West Coast. The largest jump is seen in West Coast terminal movement, where the Canadian Grain Commission indicates West Coast terminal movement at 1,500 mt in 2008/09, down to 500 mt in 2009/10, then jumping to 422,400 mt in the 2012/13 crop year, as seen in the red bars on the attached chart. As a percentage of total soybean exports through licensed facilities only, this combined movement accounted for 6% of exports in 2008/09 all the way to 21% of exports in 2012/13, as seen by the upward sloping line on the attached chart. Note that this data is presented as August through July data, as opposed to the typical September through August crop year for soybeans.

To date in the 2013/14 crop year, exports from the West Coast terminals combined with Prairie elevator shipments account for only 11% of total licensed facility exports, which may be due to heightened competition into Asian markets as well as logistical issues between the Prairies and the West Coast. While Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada is currently estimating export movement to fall 8% this crop year largely due to a 13% reduction in production in Ontario, export movement through western facilities should comprise an even greater share of the total export pie this crop year.

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

(ES)

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