WINNIPEG – Despite three reports due to be released between now and Sept. 12, canola is very likely to remain range-bound along with other oilseeds, said David Derwin of PI Financial in Winnipeg, Man.
On Sept. 6 Statistics Canada will release its report for grain stocks as of July 31. Then the federal agency issues its satellite-survey production report on Sept. 11. The next day, the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) releases its monthly supply and demand report.
Derwin said the reports “could lend some volatility” to the markets, but expects canola to go sideways before it would rise in price.
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As the harvest in southern Alberta presses on, a broker said that is one of the factors pulling feed prices lower in the region. Darcy Haley, vice-president of Ag Value Brokers in Lethbridge, added that lower cattle numbers in feedlots, plentiful amounts of grass for cattle to graze and a lacklustre export market also weighed on feed prices.
“It still comes down to the fact that one of the biggest buyers, China, is not as far as we know, back in the market in any significant way,” he commented.
Other than fulfilling previously signed contracts, China has bought very little canola from Canada since the arrest of a Huawei executive in December. Plus the spread of African swine fever throughout China has devastated its hog industry and significantly reduced the country’s demand for oilseeds.
Added to that is the large old crop carryover of canola, just as the Western Canadian harvest is ramping up, Derwin noted.
Despite delays in planting this spring, the crop’s slow development, and recent rains slowing harvest, he said farmers can easily catch up if they get a good window of opportunity with the modern equipment they use.
