Grain Helps to Drive Record 2025 Port of Vancouver Cargo Volumes

Mar 12, 2026

Canada’s largest port handled record cargo volumes in 2025, with grain exports playing a major role in the surge.

The Port of Vancouver moved a record 170.4 million tonnes of cargo in 2025, nearly 8% higher than the previous record set in 2024, according to a port release earlier this week. Strong export demand for Canadian commodities — particularly grain, crude oil, and potash — drove the increase.

Grain shipments were especially strong. Bulk grain exports through the port reached a record 30.3 million tonnes, supported largely by robust wheat demand. Wheat exports climbed 20% from 2024 to nearly 16 million tonnes, with Western Canadian wheat shipped to 35 countries across the Indo-Pacific, Europe, Central America, and the Middle East.

But while many commodities posted gains, canola seed exports declined sharply in 2025, largely due to Chinese tariffs introduced late in the year. Shipments fell 23% to 6.6 million tonnes, with volumes dropping significantly from August onward.

Despite the downturn, port officials say the outlook for canola shipments is improving. A Canada-China trade agreement reached in January has begun to restore market access, and early data suggests exports are already starting to recover.

Meanwhile, exports of canola oil expanded into new international markets, including strong growth to South Korea and Peru, helping Western Canadian producers diversify beyond traditional buyers.

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Video: Alberta Honey: A Day at Molenkamp Honey Farms

When was the last time you read the label on your honey?

We spent a day at Molenkamp Honey Farms with Michael Molenkamp, who has been keeping bees for 17 seasons and runs three to four thousand hives. In mid-September, he was finishing treatments and getting his bees ready for winter, and he walked us through how Alberta honey gets made.

Alberta has just 150 commercial beekeepers running 300,000 colonies, and together they produce 40% of Canada’s honey. Long summer days and golden canola fields give Alberta honey a light flavour that’s hard to match anywhere else.

Molenkamp calls Alberta beekeepers some of the most resilient farmers he knows. There’s plenty of Alberta honey to go around, but a lot on our shelves isn’t from here, so his ask is simple. Give the label a second look and choose honey made by Alberta beekeepers, or buy straight from a beekeeper near you.