Glacier FarmMedia | MarketsFarm — Prices for corn delivered into southern Alberta have risen at a quicker pace than domestic barley over the past few weeks, which should keep barley in feed rations and temper corn imports for the time being.
Feed barley into the key Lethbridge feeding area was priced at C$285 to C$289 per tonne area as of Nov. 8, according to the Alberta government’s weekly market review. That was steady to slightly higher compared to the previous week. Delivered corn prices up by about C$5 per tonne from the previous week at C$295 per tonne.
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The two grains had traded at par with each other in early October, which had been making U.S. corn imports more attractive. While U.S. corn futures have held within a sideways range over the past month, the Canadian dollar has fallen sharply over that time — losing roughly three cents relative to its U.S. counterpart. That softer currency makes it more expensive for Canadian buyers to buy corn priced in U.S. dollars.
Canadian imports of U.S. corn are slow so far, with only 14,800 tonnes imported as of Oct. 31 during the marketing year that began at the start of September, according to U.S. Department of Agriculture data. That compares with 221,700 tonnes at the same point a year ago. In addition, there are only 62,500 tonnes of outstanding U.S. corn sales to Canada, well below the 576,200 tonnes on the books at the same time a year ago.
