Canada’s common wheat exports fall 34% on week, durum wheat shipments rise

Canadian common wheat exports fell 34.3% in the week ended Dec. 5, Canadian Grain Commission data released Dec. 12 showed.

Exports declined to 161,300 mt from 245,400 mt the week before, according to the data.

Overall common wheat exports for the marketing year 2021-22 (August-July) reached 4.3 million mt and were 38% lower year on year. During the same period of MY 2020-21, Canada shipped out slightly over 7 million mt of the food grain.

Exports of the food grain fell in the week to Dec. 5 as export prices of the food grain rose sharply to near $422/mt amid a global increase in prices, traders said.

In the same week, however, exports of durum wheat rose to 51,400 mt from 22,200 mt the week before.

From Aug. 1 to Dec. 5, exports of durum wheat totaled at 1.1 million mt, compared with nearly 2 million mt during the same period last year.

In MY 2020-21, Canada exported a total 26.4 million mt of wheat. Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada has estimated the country’s wheat exports at 16.1 million mt in MY 2021-22.

The US Department of Agriculture has pegged Canada’s wheat exports at 15 million mt for MY 2021-22.

Canada’s wheat exports have seen a sharp decline this marketing year as the exportable surplus was seen tightening with output at the lowest in more than 14 years amid one of the warmest and driest summers on record.

In MY 2021-22, Canada is likely to harvest 21.7 million mt of wheat, down sharply from 35.2 million mt the year before.

CWRS wheat FOB 13.5% Vancouver for 30-45 days forward was assessed at $414.38/mt Dec. 10 and FOB prices of 13.5% CWRS Vancouver for 45-60 days forward at $416.22/mt, both down 18 cents/mt, S&P Global Platts data showed.

Some traders expect exports of the high-protein content wheat to increase in coming months as premium quality wheat supplies from Australia are seen tightened in the current season.

An expected increase in exports may also help boost the price of the commodity in the near term, traders said.

S&P Global Platts

Tags: prices, Canada, wheat, wheat exports, durum wheat, food grain, export prices