WINNIPEG (MarketsFarm) — Canadian grain exports from licensed facilities are running well behind the previous year’s pace, due primarily to a sharp reduction in movement to China, according to latest monthly data from the Canadian Grain Commission.
Total 2019-20 crop year (August to July) exports of Canada’s grain, oilseed and pulse crops as of the end of December came in at 17.6 million tonnes. That compares with the 20.7 million tonnes moved during the same five-month period the previous year.
China was the top destination in both years, but took 7.5 million tonnes in 2018-19 and only 2.4 million tonnes in the current marketing year.
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On a crop-by-crop basis, Canadian canola exports to China during the first five months of the marketing year of 553,000 tonnes were down by 74 percent from the previous year. Wheat exports to the country, at 269,000 tonnes were down 73 percent, and non-existent soybean sales compare to 2018-19 when Canada had already exported three million tonnes of soybeans to China by the end of December.
However, a few crops have seen improvements on the year. Total Canadian pea exports to China so far in 2019-20 are up 44 percent compared to the year, at 860,200 tonnes. China has also imported 10 percent more barley, at 725,600 tonnes.
