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Mustard seeds: EU imports from Canada shrink significantly

May 4, 2023 at 1:00 PM , Der AUDITOR
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OTTAWA. Market players are casting doubt on official crop forecasts for Canada's 2023 mustard seed crop, although seed sales have been good. Meanwhile, EU imports fell by 8% last year.

Crop forecast is in doubt

The official crop forecast for the 2023/2024 Canadian mustard seed season remains unchanged from the previous report. A slight increase in acreage to 230,000 ha is expected, plus yields could rebound to 0.86 mt/ha under normal conditions. This could result in a 17% increase in production over the previous year to 190,000 mt. In total, 237,000 mt of mustard seeds would thus be available for the coming season.

Market players such as the experts at Rayglen Commodities, however, question the official cultivation forecast, but at the same time admit that an above-average amount of seeds has indeed been sold for the coming season. How big this year's crop will turn out in the end remains to be seen, however. Growers who have already started sowing report good conditions.

Mustard seeds, India

Quality

USD/mt

Brown, large, mechanically cleaned

1,040

Yellow, mecanically cleaned

1,170

CFR Hamburg

EU imports became significantly more expensive

The EU imported around 93,674 mt of mustard seeds worth USD 128.835 million from third countries in 2022. This means that the import volume decreased by 7.6% year-on-year, while the import value even increased by a whopping 78.7%. The average import price rose from EUR 0.71/kg to EUR 1.38/kg compared to the previous year. Russia remains by far the most important supplier to the EU with 41,061 mt. Shipments from Canada (-33% to 19,670 mt), Ukraine (+2% to 11,823 mt) and Uruguay (-60% to 4,538 mt) declined year-on-year, while imports from Argentina (+115% to 7,271 mt), Kazakhstan (+88% to 3,524 mt) and India (+642% to 3,524 mt) increased.

Mustard seed* imports, EU, in mt

Supplier

2021

2022

Diff.

Russia

41,282

41,061

-0.5%

Canada

29,129

19,670

-32.5%

Ukraine

12,012

11,823

-1.6%

Argentina

3,385

7,271

114.8%

Uruguay

11,199

4,538

-59.5%

Kazakhstan

1,870

3,524

88.4%

India

378

2,803

641.5%

Moldova

795

1,246

56.7%

USA

753

911

21.0%

New Zealand

480

726

51.3%

Others

130

101

-22.3%

Total

101,413

93,674

-7.6%

European Commission / Eurostat (Comext)

*12075090 Mustard seeds, whether or not broken (excl. for sowing)

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