22
Aug
The drought that grips the U.S. northern Plains region spills over north of the board into the Canadian Prairie Provinces as well. Central Saskatchewan accounts for more than half of the country’s canola area. Between April and July, precipitation for the region was less than 40% of its usual level and the lowest in 30 years. The crop vegetation indices for the Province that are based on satellite imagery are clearly not as good as a year ago. A lower yield outlook for Canadian canola scales back USDA’s forecast of 2017/18 production by 500,00 metric tons this month to 20.5 million metric tons. The concerns are placing particular attention on the prospect on August 31 of crop estimates from Statistics Canada which traders expect to show a 18.6 million metric ton figure, only marginally higher than last year’s 18.42 million metric ton harvest despite a rise in sowings to a record high. Canada’s farm ministry currently estimates this year’s domestic harvest at 19 million metric tons. Oil World, which has warned of a potentially explosive situation in world canola markets, has reportedly forecast a Canadian harvest below 18 million metric tons, while Lanworth last week put the crop at 18.4 million metric tons. Even with all of these downgrades, this could still be a record harvest of canola due to a substantial increase in sown area.