| ‘000 tonnes | 2014 | 2015 | 14/15 % |
| Total wheat | 22,346 | 16,734 | -25.1 |
| Wheat ex durum | 18,334 | 14,420 | -21.3 |
| Durum | 4,012 | 2,318 | -42.2 |
| Barley | 4,410 | 3,376 | -23.4 |
| Canola | 8,677 | 7,039 | -18.9 |
| Corn | 7,979 | 6,467 | -18.9 |
| Peas | 1,527 | 1,004 | -34.3 |
| Flax | 383 | 395 | 3.1 |
| Lentils | 935 | 434 | -53.6 |
| Oats | 2,180 | 1,588 | -27.2 |
| Rye | 96 | 85 | -11.5 |
| Soybeans | 1,419 | 2,063 | 45.4 |
By Rod Nickel and Simon Doyle
WINNIPEG, Manitoba/OTTAWA, May 6 (Reuters) – Canadian stocks of wheat and canola dwindled this spring more than expected, but supplies were still relatively plentiful, Statistics Canada data showed on Wednesday.
Farmers harvested big crops last autumn, but output was smaller than the record levels of a year earlier, when harsh winter conditions overwhelmed railways, causing grain to pile up at farms.
Total all-wheat stocks on farms and in commercial storage as of March 31 fell 25 percent to 16.7 million tonnes, well short of trade expectations for 17.7 million tonnes. Even so, supplies were the fourth largest in the past decade.
Canola supplies dipped 19 percent to seven million tonnes, still the second most ample on record. Traders and analysts expected, on average, 7.4 million tonnes.
The estimates looked mildly supportive for ICE Canada canola futures and Minneapolis Grain Exchange spring wheat futures, said Dave Reimann, a market analyst at Cargill Ltd’s grain marketing services division.
The report pointed to tighter-than-expected supplies at the end of the crop marketing year on July 31, Reimann said.
“I think it still points to a very comfortable number, but not quite as bearish as before.”
Less crop stored at farms was responsible for the drop in supplies for both wheat and canola, while commercially stored volumes rose.
The spring stocks report, based partly on a farmer survey, provides a snapshot of supply ahead of planting season, but generates less industry attention than most Statscan surveys.
ICE Canada July canola futures eased after the report.
Canada is the world’s second largest wheat exporter and the biggest shipper of canola, used largely to produce vegetable oil.
Oat stocks shrank 27 percent to 1.6 million tonnes, smaller than the average trade estimate of 1.8 million tonnes.
Durum supplies were more than 40 percent smaller year over year at 2.3 million tonnes, and lower than the expected 2.8 million.
Barley stocks dropped 23 percent to 3.4 million tonnes, but were slightly larger than expected.
