StatsCan raises canola, lentil crops, drops barley

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Published: December 3, 2010

Statistics Canada today raised its estimate of Canadian canola production by more than what analysts had expected.

But the barley crop is smaller than expected and lentils are larger.

It put the canola estimate at 11.866 million tonnes, up 14 percent from the last report in early October and above the trade’s average expectation of 11.2 million tonnes.

Resilience in the crop and a mild October were behind the improvement.

The crop is still smaller than last year’s 12.417 million.

After initially falling, canola futures bounced back as traders believe there is adequate demand to keep year end stocks low.

In mid morning trade, November canola was up $4 per tonne at $550.10.

StatsCan put the all wheat crop at 23.167 million tonnes, up one million or four percent from October. Last year’s crop was 26.848 million tonnes.

Spring wheat was put at 17.485 million up six percent from October and durum at 3.024 million, down 0.6 percent from October.

Durum last year was 5.4 million tonnes.

News of the larger Canadian crop did nothing to stop Minneapolis futures from climbing on worries about Australia’s wheat crop, which is being hit by too much rain as farmers there attempt to harvest.

StatsCan put the barley crop at 7.605 million tonnes, down eight percent from October.

Oats was at 2.298 million down one percent.

Flax was 423,000 tonnes, down 21.3 percent from early October.

The peas crop was put at 2.862 million tonnes up three percent from October

The lentil crop was put at 1.947 million tonnes, up 32 percent from October.

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