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Flaxseed: No chance for Canada in Germany

February 28, 2017 at 9:30 AM , Der AUDITOR
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OTTAWA. The GMO scandal eight years back caused enormous setbacks to Canada. Demand for Canadian flaxseed is particularly low in Germany. The latest export figures, however, show an amazing shift.

Imports have dropped by more than 93%

Exports from Canada to the EU dwindled after the scandal was made public. With an average of 150,000 mt being exported to the EU every year it seems as if Canada is on the way to recovery. The situation in Germany is, however, completely different since imports from Canada are still way below pre-scandal levels as the latest import figures show.

Flaxseed imports to Germany in mt

country

2008

2012

2016

Russis

5,075

31,955

56,933

Kazakhstan

0

86,436

40,281

Belgium

14,141

16,620

15,559

Canada

130,873

6,035

8,695

Poland

0

2,482

6,983

Netherlands

2,504

3,451

4,942

India

39

666

3,639

Sweden

806

7,904

3,122

China

2,383

1,293

1,346

Ukraine

2,751

950

552

source: German Federal Statistical Office


Crop decreases by 40%

With competition from Eastern Europe increasing and prices being low acreage in Canada decreased by 43% in 2016. Frost and snow furthermore delayed the harvest and caused considerable damage. Due to the large carry-over stocks from 2015 there are, however, sufficient supplies available in 2016/17. Since the farmers are expecting better profits in 2017/18 acreage is set to increase to 425.000 ha again. Although the yield is expected to drop considerably, production should still increase by 10%.

Flaxseed, Canada

2015/16 vs. 2016/17

2016/17 vs. 2017/18

sown

664,000

378,000

-43.07%

378,000

425,000

12.43%

harvested

646,000

338,000

-47.68%

338,000

418,000

23.67%

yield (mt/ha)

1.46

1.71

17.12%

1.71

1.52

-11.11%

production

942,000

579,000

-38.54%

579,000

635,000

9.67%

imports

12,000

10,000

-16.67%

10,000

10,000

0.00%

total stock

1,052,000

863,000

-17.97%

863,000

845,000

-2.09%

exports

633,000

600,000

-5.21%

600,000

600,000

0.00%

consumption

146,000

63,000

-56.85%

63,000

45,000

-28.57%

carry-over stocks

274,000

200,000

-27.01%

200,000

200,000

0.00%

avg price in CAD/mt

449

470

4.68%

470

460

-2.13%

source: Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada

 

 

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