Canadian farmers harvested larger crops than expected this autumn, reaping record-large canola output and a surprisingly big wheat crop, a Statistics Canada report showed on Wednesday. A late harvest in Western Canada made the size of crops in the world's biggest canola exporter uncertain, but autumn weather was generally dry and beneficial for big yields.
Canola production topped 21.3 million tonnes, 8 percent higher than Statscan's September estimate, and more than 1 million tonnes larger than the average trade estimate in a Reuters survey. "It's a record by a long shot, (but) not necessarily a surprise because we had big canola yields in a lot of places in Canada," said Brian Voth, president of farmer advisory firm IntelliFarm Inc, on a conference call arranged by MGEX.
Even so, southern Alberta and southern Saskatchewan canola yields were limited by excessively hot, dry weather, Voth said. "There's going to be some debate over this (report)."
ICE Canada January canola futures sagged 0.5 percent after the report. Many commercial dealers expected a canola harvest this large all along, said Ryan Longhenry, who trades canola for Riverland Ag Corp in Minnesota.
"There is enough demand there to keep supply from getting too heavy, but for the near term it should keep (canola prices) from following the bean complex higher." Statscan estimated Canada's all-wheat harvest at 30 million tonnes, down 5.5 percent year over year. But the estimate exceeded Statscan's previous estimate by 10.5 percent and easily surpassed the average trade expectation of 28 million tonnes. Minneapolis December spring wheat futures shrugged off the report, rising 0.8 percent. Statscan's canola and wheat estimates topped the highest trade guesses before the report.
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