Following record levels in 2013, Canadian farmers expect wheat and canola production to continue to drop this year.
At the national level, total wheat production is projected to be down 16 per cent from last year, according to a recent Statistics Canada report. The expected drop comes from a lower yield average of 38 bushels per acre this year, when last year the average was 46.
"I don't know that [this] is going to have huge impact on our prices," says Brian Voth, senior marketing coach for Agri-Trend Marketing. "But in terms of overall impact on futures prices, hopefully not a lot of impact there. As long as our Canadian dollar stays down where it is though, there's definitely going to be export demand out of Canada because our wheat is relatively cheap compared to other places right now."
According to the report, Canadian farmers also anticipate a decrease of two million tonnes in canola production, compared to last year.
Voth says despite the drop in production, there is still a solid demand for canola.
Source : PortageOnline