Canada’s imports of U.S. grain went through the roof in 2021-22 and remain robust in the current marketing campaign.
Canada imported 13.33 million tonnes of U.S. grain in all forms last year, ranking behind only Mexico and China.
Those imports were valued at US$6 billion.
The volume and dollar amounts were nearly double the previous year’s amounts due in large part to the western Canadian drought of 2021.
The import figures include estimates for the amount of U.S. grain included in products like ethanol, pork, poultry and beef imported into the country.
Corn was the biggest revenue generator last year, followed by ethanol and pork.
Canada bought 6.05 million tonnes of U.S. corn, valued at $1.64 billion.
It was the top importer of U.S. ethanol in 2021-22, buying 466 million gallons, worth $1.45 billion.
Canada was also one of the top buyers of U.S. barley and distillers grains that year.
Canadian purchases of U.S. grains are down 29 percent from last year through the first eight months of the 2022-23 marketing campaign at $3.04 billion.
But that is still high. It amounts to what would typically be bought in an entire year.
The decline is primarily due to a steep drop in U.S. corn imports because of a vastly improved harvest of Canadian barley and other feed crops in 2022.
Canada imported 1.14 million tonnes of U.S. corn from September 2022 through April 2023, a 73 percent drop from the same time last year.
But ethanol imports from the U.S. are booming, with 377 million gallons flowing across the border, a 30 percent increase over last year’s volumes.
Imports of other products are down slightly, except for barley, which has plummeted 61 percent.
Ellen Zimmerman, director of industry relations with the U.S. Grains Council, said the relationship between the two countries is close.
“We really value Canada as a trading partner,” she said.
She credits the increased trade volumes in part to the new United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement.
“That trade agreement is really valuable to us for Canada and Mexico,” said Zimmerman.
The U.S. Grains Council is holding its 63rd annual membership meeting in Calgary this year.
About 300 of its members are expected to attend the meeting scheduled for July 26-28.
The USGC has a presence in 28 countries and runs programs in 50. It holds membership meetings in one of those countries about every second year.
There will be presentations at the Calgary meeting aimed at boosting the understanding of the Canadian feedgrain and ethanol markets.
Speakers will discuss how Canada’s recently implemented Clean Fuel Standard will affect demand for U.S. ethanol.
“We’re excited to see the standard come to fruition and look forward to see the gallons continue to grow in coming years,” said Zimmerman.
The rest of the meeting will revolve around big trade issues, such as how the wave of new soy crush plants in the U.S. will affect feedgrain markets.
There are also expected to be discussions involving the global transportation system, including rail and ocean freight.
