June 28, 2010

Canada's rapeseed production may fall by two million tonnes

Canada may harvest nearly two million tonnes less rapeseed than last year, and exports may fall after floods reduced seeding and excessive moisture stressed the plants, the Canadian Canola Growers Association said.

It would be fair to estimate a crop of about 10 million tonnes, General Manager Rick White said. "If that's what it is, exports could fall to six million tonnes from little over seven million tonnes last year."

Farmers across Western Canada, the world's biggest rapeseed exporter, only seeded about 85% of the crop they initially intended to plant this year, as excessive rains flooded fields and deprived the plants of oxygen and nutrients, White said.

The wet conditions are still a significant concern and farmers are already seeing some crops yellowing, White said. Showers are forecast in southern Alberta and Saskatchewan this week, he said. As plants in flooded fields have shallow roots, they may not tolerate hot, dry weather when the wet conditions clear up, he said.

The industry was initially projecting 16.8 million to 17.8 million acres (7.2 million hectares) seeded to rapeseed, White said. It may take a few more weeks to have a more thorough assessment of the damage because some fields are still under water and it is not clear how the crops will stand when fields do dry up, he said.