Record volumes of grain and oilseeds are being shipped to market this spring.
The Canadian Wheat Board exported 2.4 million tonnes of wheat, durum and barley in April, the biggest monthly total since November 1997, when shipments reached 2.5 million.
The 2.4 million tonnes represents an increase of 174 percent over last April and nearly double the April average of 1.3 million tonnes.
“This shows what the system can do when it’s running on all cylinders,” said Mark Thibeault, the wheat board’s manager of supply optimization.
The board expects the strong pace of shipments to continue for the next two months and urged farmers to keep delivering grain as delivery calls are issued.
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“We usually see a drop off in deliveries as seeding starts and farmers get busy,” Thibeault said.
“But we hope they can find a way to keep hauling because the sales are there.”
The board expects to surpass its 2008-09 export target of 17.7 million tonnes but isn’t prepared to release a specific number.
Export of canola out of the West Coast were also brisk, setting an all-time monthly record in April of slightly more than 860,000 tonnes, shattering the previous record by more than 200,000 and almost tripling the 308,000 tonnes shipped last year.
“It shows that we do have the ability to move a lot of product when we’re given the opportunity with supplies and rail capacity,” said Lach Coburn, Cargill’s manager of west coast operations.
He expects total grain movement out of Vancouver and Prince Rupert, B.C., in 2008-09 will be around 17.5 million tonnes, compared with the traditional level of 14.5 to 15.5 million.
As of May 1, canola exports out of the West Coast for the crop year to date were 4.9 million tonnes, an increase of 48 percent from 3.3 million a year earlier.
Coburn said the big numbers reflect two factors: lots of rail capacity and strong demand from major buyers such as China and Japan.
Canola shipments in May are expected to total 550,000 tonnes, he added.
While farm deliveries will drop off, he said, enough canola seems to be in the commercial system to keep shipments moving for the next while.
Grain shippers agree a key reason for the record movement is the additional rail and vessel capacity available as a result of the downturn in shipments of other bulk commodities.
“We’ve been lucky this year, with the big crop to move, to have access to all this rail capacity,” Thibeault said.
“The railways are offering lots of freight.”
