CNS Canada –– Canadian mustard production will likely see an upward bump in 2016, according to one buyer, but seeded acres won’t increase exponentially, despite strong prices.
“It’s not going to be a big bounce-back year like we’ve had in the past whenever spot prices have increased like they have,” said Walter Dyck of Olds Products.
High pulse prices are competing against mustard, he said, and crop rotation could also limit acres.
However, production will still likely increase from this year’s levels. Statistics Canada estimates producers grew 123,400 tonnes of mustard in 2015.
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As the harvest in southern Alberta presses on, a broker said that is one of the factors pulling feed prices lower in the region. Darcy Haley, vice-president of Ag Value Brokers in Lethbridge, added that lower cattle numbers in feedlots, plentiful amounts of grass for cattle to graze and a lacklustre export market also weighed on feed prices.
“When you have those higher prices it usually means you’ll get more acres,” Dyck said.
Delivered elevator yellow mustard prices are at about 50-56 cents per pound, according to Prairie Ag Hotwire.
“There isn’t a lot of mustard to buy and some of it is just going to take a higher price to pry it loose,” Dyck said.
New-crop bids range between 45 to 46 cents per pound, according to Prairie Ag Hotwire.
Dyck said seeing new-crop prices in December is historically early, but it’s been a trend the last three or four years.
“I think what they’re seeing is potentially some demand from growers who are interested in locking something up early.”
— Jade Markus writes for Commodity News Service Canada, a Winnipeg company specializing in grain and commodity market reporting.
