WINNIPEG — Canadian oat prices have moved lower in recent weeks, and with harvest edging closer, some producers may stockpile crops and wait for better prices, a market watcher says.
Lorne Boundy, a merchandiser at Paterson Grain, says oat prices are low for Western Canada and are heavily linked to neighbouring wheat and corn markets, which have also been moving lower.
“We’re probably going to end up getting over-sold and then bouncing again,” he says.
Crops are about three weeks away from harvest, says Edgar Scheurer, vice-president of Prairie Oat Growers Association.
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“Crops are doing pretty good, they’re ripening off,” he says.
Lower prices mean producers may hold onto their stocks longer and wait for a better price, or if they choose to sell they’ll get a compromised return.
“Depending on their storage situation, a lot of producers — depending on where they are—have a fair bit of oats because that’s the first thing coming off the combine,” says Boundy.
Boundy pegs Manitoba cash oat prices at $2.80 to $2.90 per bushel.
He says parts of Saskatchewan are $2.50 per bushel or lower and dropping.
Art Enns, president of the Prairie Oat Growers Association, says producers are uncertain where the market is headed.
“Oats are a very ticklish thing going into the fall. We’ll have a better handle around December as to how things are going,” Enns says.
He says producers are watching to see how crops will turn out and whether the drought in Saskatchewan and Alberta impacted quality.
“I think at this point we’ll almost probably see oats going sideways.”
