(Resource News International) — Cash bids for flaxseed in Western Canada have been steadily declining as European concerns that Canada’s crop contains genetically modified organisms (GMOs) continue to gather speed.
“Right now, European interests have quarantined all Canadian flaxseed shipments, which has had a real detrimental impact on the cash value,” said Ben Friesen of Keystone Grain at Winkler, Man. “A lot of grain elevators are absolutely refusing to offer a value for flaxseed.”
Europe represents about 70 per cent of Canada’s flax exports on an annual crop year basis.
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There are a few outlets which are still moving flaxseed, Friesen said, but those shipments are going to locations such as Mexico and China, where the issue is not so much GM-related, but price-sensitive.
Given the GM issue with Europe, he said, values have come down and have sparked some interest from other importing countries.
“As a result, we are making some small sales of Canadian flaxseed, albeit at a reduced price,” he said.
In an effort to resolve the GM issue with Europe, the Flax Council of Canada in conjunction with the Canadian Grain Commission (CGC) has started a geographic study of existing flax stocks held in commercial positions throughout Canada.
All Canadian companies are participating in the study and are sending appropriate samples from their facilities. It’s hoped the CGC’s study will determine the nature and location of the GM material.
The CGC is also expanding its traditional harvest survey of this year’s flax crop in Canada to determine if there is any GM material in this year’s crop and if so, where it’s located.
Cash bids for flaxseed in Saskatchewan, based on data from Prairie Ag Hotwire, currently range from $6 to $7.01 per bushel. No bids were available in Manitoba, although private sources indicate that some select buyers were still bidding around $7.50 to $8 a bushel for flaxseed. In Alberta, cash bids were around the $6.50 per bushel level.
At the end of August, cash bids for flaxseed, delivered to the elevator in Saskatchewan, ranged from $9.64 to $10 a bushel, in Manitoba from $9.91 to $11 and in Alberta from $9.42 to $9.52.
