Canada Markets

A combination of press releases along with an Farm Credit Canada study serve as a reminder of the role that 1) agriculture plays in the economy and 2) the role that Canadian producers play in supporting healthy diets around the world.

On Nov. 13, the Canola Council of Canada announced that a recent federal government trade mission to China had resulted in a $1 billion, seven-year arrangement to supply Canadian canola oil to that country. There's no doubt that the talk of this deal picked up with reports that it was not one of Canada's crushing operations who made this sale, but rather, an Ontario condominium developer.

"It (canola oil) sells itself," suggested a producer on an online chat site, as the evidence of canola's superior health benefits continue to grow. The press release suggests that 290 million Chinese or over 22% of the population has cardiovascular disease, while an additional 114 million or almost 12% have diabetes which puts them at greater risk of cardiovascular disease.

To compare these Statistics to Canadian data, the Public Health Agency of Canada as well as the Heart and Stroke Foundation report that in 2007 4.8% of Canadians have heart disease which is diagnosed by a health professional. The same government agency quotes the prevalence of diabetes in Canada at 6.8% of the population as of 2008/09 statistics.

The attached chart shows the growth in China's domestic consumption of the major vegetable oils, estimated to reach 34.06 million metric tonnes in 2014/15. While the total consumption has grown 26.6% from 2009/10, the growth in canola oil/rapeseed oil (blue bars) has grown by 35.7% in the same period to an estimated 7.655 mmt.

On Nov. 14, the Canola Council of Canada announced a partnership with the Mexican Diabetes Federation to recognize World Diabetes Day 2014 by informing the public about healthy food choices. The work of these initiatives could be viewed as successful given an awareness level of canola oil in 40% of the population, up from 9% two years ago.

Another report issued last week was the Farm Credit Canada report A 2014 Look at Global Trade. The report concludes that when Canada's imports and exports are added together, with the resulting dollar value reported on a per capita basis, Canada is the largest agriculture trader in the world. While Canada is fifth largest exporter and the sixth largest importer of agricultural products, on a per capita basis, the country's import/export activity totaled $2,100/person, which compares to $1,730 in the European Union and just $730/person in the United States.

DTN 360 Poll: This week's poll asks what percentage of your 2014 production has been priced. You can share your thoughts on DTN's 360 Poll found on DTN's Home Page.

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

Follow Cliff Jamieson on Twitter @CliffJamieson

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