October 7, 2008

Canadian rapeseed exports strong, pace to continue

Canadian rapeseed exports are moving at a strong pace and should continue going forward, especially given the good quality of Canada's large rapeseed crop and recent price declines, said industry officials.

Over 400,000 tonnes of rapeseed are slated to move out of Canada's west coast in the next two weeks, according to the Canadian Ports Clearance Association. The export lineup is thought to be full through October.

"It's busy, which is encouraging," said Lach Coburn, Cargill Canada's west coast manager of shipping in Vancouver, on rapeseed business currently taking place. He said there was still room for more sales in November and December and expected rapeseed would see good demand.

Coburn added that the oil content of this year's Canadian rapeseed crop appears to be on the high end, which should add to the potential for demand.

"It's a big crop, so there should be good exports for the next month," said rapeseed exporter Adrian Man of Winnipeg's James Richardson International. Japan, Mexico and Dubai were all in the market, he added.

However, exports could be higher if rapeseed was not still facing a tariff disparity compared to soy into China, he said. China currently has a 9-percent import tax in place on rapeseed and rapeseed oil entering the country, which compares with 3 percent for soy.

The increasing uncertainty in the global financial markets has also started to create some concern in the rapeseed market, with talk that the credit crisis may cause problems for some buyers looking to finance their purchases, according to Man.

However, both Man and Coburn had yet to see any actual cases of buyers running into trouble acquiring credit.