Australian canola exports drop to 114,392t in July

AUSTRALIA exported 114,392 tonnes of canola in July, down 40 per cent from the June total of 189,894t, according to the latest export data from the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS).

The United Arab Emirates on 51,194t was the biggest customer for July, followed by Japan on 39,404t and Nepal on 17,538t.

July figures reflect a continuation in the rundown of stocks ahead of new crop, and buoyant demand as the global market adjust to a greatly reduced exports from Canada.

Statistics Canada last month pegged Canadian canola production at 14.7 million tonnes (Mt), down 24pc from last year, and its exports are seen at 6.5Mt, down 40pc from 10.9Mt in 2020-21.

In its September 2 canola supply-and-demand report, Lachstock Consulting said Japan is “very much on the front foot in adapting to a lower Canadian crop”.

“Japan has booked more than 400,000t of new-season business, and looks set to take 700,000-800,000t of Australian seed in the coming 12 months, potentially more,” Lachstock said.

“If Canada’s crop falters further once we know the final production numbers, and/or quality wanes, then we will see record exports from Australia to Japan, provided Australia’s quality fits the bill come harvest time.”

Japan has been a loyal and longstanding buyer of Australian canola, and it will be competing with Europe, Bangladesh and the UAE as destinations for new-crop Australian seed.

In its periodic Australian Crop Report released last week, ABARES pegged Australia’s 2021-22 canola crop at a record 5Mt, and industry estimates accounting for domestic use of 1.3Mt plus carry-out mean at least 3Mt will be exported, with first shipments due to load in December.

Table 1: Australian canola exports for May, Juen and July 2021. Source: ABS

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Tags: Australia, canola