(Resource News International) –– Canaryseed growers in Saskatchewan are unsure of what they will get for a price for their product, after the Canadian Special Crops Association declared a “force majeure” on exports of canaryseed bound for top importer Mexico.
The CSCA said deliveries have been disrupted since late June, after Mexico slapped a “hold and test” policy on canaryseed and said any shipments found to contain wild buckwheat or stinkweed would be rejected.
Kevin Hursh, executive director of the Canaryseed Development Commission of Saskatchewan, said the halt in exports will hurt the market.
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“It’s just not good news when your No. 1 customer that typically takes 25 per cent of your crop is still an uncertain as to whether they will be able to take any,” Hursh said.
Talks between Canada and Mexico continue.
“They continue to go back and forth with it,” Hursh said. “But what Mexico wants from Canada for assurances is at this point too onerous, so the two sides are continuing to go back and forth with proposals.”
If the situation was to be resolved, Hursh said, it could add anywhere from one to four cents per pound to the price of canaryseed.
A lot of experts thought that the situation would have been resolved months ago, he said.
Aside from Mexico, a number of European countries, Latin American countries and the U.S. would be the main customers for canaryseed.
While the uncertainty with Mexico is bad news for producers, there is some good news as well.
Acres in Saskatchewan were down this year, meaning there may be more of a market for canaryseed after all. Furthermore, the crops that are out there look to be doing well.
“We have had lots of moisture; it’s just a question of how many of those acres have had excess moisture, but canaryseed does love moisture, and we’ve certainly had lots of it,” Hursh said.
Hursh said he expects yields to be near the upper end of the long-term range as suggested by Statistics Canada. The government agency recently forecast the 2010-11 Saskatchewan canaryseed crop at 137,800 tonnes which compares with 160,300 the previous year.
Saskatchewan produces 80 per cent of the world’s canaryseed supply.
