Winnipeg, Dec. 17 – The Louis Dreyfus canola crushing plant in Yorkton, Sask., has reportedly been back in operation since the beginning of December, but the company will not confirm or deny those reports.
The plant was forced to halt operations in late October due to an explosion at a meal storage facility.
Sources in the eastern Saskatchewan city say that the Louis Dreyfus plant is again taking deliveries of canola from farmers, and has been processing canola since the beginning of December. One local source said the plant was running, but at a reduced rate.
Read Also
U.S. grains: Corn backs away from gains at close
Chicago | Reuters — U.S. corn futures climbed to a 6-1/2 week high on Friday on short covering ahead of…
The company’s website confirms that there are local cash bids for nearby delivery.
However, the most recent update on the operational capabilities is dated Nov. 25, and provides no clear date for reopening aside from “as soon as it is safe to do so.”
Calls and emails to the company were either unreturned or directed to the Nov. 25 statement.
The Canadian Oilseed Processors Association (COPA) provides weekly updates on the country’s crush capacity, and its data shows a sizeable jump in canola crushing.
In the week ended Dec. 10, 145,019 tonnes of canola were crushed, up by more 11,000 tonnes from the previous week.
This marked the first time the crush surpassed 140,000 tonnes since before the Louis Dreyfus plant was closed.
Some canola traders saw the increase in the domestic crush as a sign that Louis Dreyfus was once again operating.
However, COPA officials were unable to confirm what, if any, capacity the Louis Dreyfus Yorkton plant contributed to the weekly total.
COPA’s executive director, Jim Everson, said via email that he did “not have an update on the plant.”
The Yorkton plant, which opened in 2009, has the capacity to crush 850,000 tonnes of canola per year, producing 350,000 tonnes of oil and 500,000 tonnes of meal.
