CNSC – Saskatchewan’s canaryseed spot prices have seen short-term gains, as wet conditions stalled harvest progress, but one industry participant expects the market may drift back down in the long run.
“It’s a pretty good crop, it just isn’t in the bin,” said David Nobbs, managing partner of Canpulse Foods, and current chair of the Canaryseed Development Commission of Saskatchewan.
Producers in Saskatchewan had combined about half of this year’s canaryseed crop as of Oct. 24, according to the most recent Saskatchewan Agriculture crop report.
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“It stalled there for about the past month, but recently harvesting has started again,” Nobbs said.
Warm temperatures and limited precipitation allowed producers to get back into fields in parts of Saskatchewan.
Areas in the southeast have been able to make the most progress, Nobbs said. The northeast is least advanced and west central areas are somewhere in the middle.
“We’re probably returning to fairly significant crop, just depends whether or not we get the crop off,” Nobbs said.
Canaryseed spot prices have moved from about 21 to 25 cents per pound due to harvest delays, but many buyers are disinterested in paying those higher prices, he added.
Since contracted canaryseed is still in fields, exporter-ability to ship those products overseas is limited.
“We have a made-in-Canada short squeeze going on and the buyers are just kind of waiting. They have purchases made, and the Canadian exporters are kind of squeezed in the middle right now,” Nobbs said.
He expects long-term prices will settle lower once the trade understands how much crop, if any, will be left to overwinter.
Saskatchewan Agriculture will be releasing their final crop report on November 24.
