Mustard seeds: yields significantly higher than expected
September 24, 2025 at 12:54 PM ,
Der AUDITOR
Decline in production despite high yields
After initial delays, the mustard seed harvest in Canada is still in full swing. As the experts at Rayglen Commodities state in their latest report, yields were initially at least average. However, market experts are concerned about quality, as the ripeness of the oilseeds is extremely mixed.
Last week, Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada also significantly raised its production estimates for the 2025 mustard seed crop compared to previous expectations. The yield had previously been estimated at 105,000 mt, but current forecasts put it at 140,852 mt due to higher yields. Due to the significantly smaller acreage of 140,600 ha (2024: 242,700 ha), production would still be 26.8% lower than last year (2024: 192,297 mt).
The market is currently still calm and prices for Canadian golden mustard seeds remain unchanged from last week at CAD 0.42-0.44/lb FOB, depending on the grower.
Market players are waiting for the crops in the Black Sea region, after which some will decide to what extent they need to cover their requirements with shipments from North America. Here, prices for golden mustard seeds are currently at a level of EUR 0.90/kg EXW Hungary, while mustard meal is offered at EUR 1.19/kg EXW.
23% of EU imports come from Canada
Right at the start of the season, the European Commission recorded a massive increase in mustard seed shipments from Brazil. Since then, however, these have stagnated. This gave shipments from traditional sources time to catch up.
Despite increased import duties, EU countries increased imports from Russia by 875.6% to 6,634 mt compared to the same period last year, but shipments from Canada (+5.6% to 6,520 mt) and Kazakhstan (+59.5% to 3,731 mt) also increased significantly. Imports from Ukraine, however, have virtually halved to 3,982 mt. Overall, EU countries imported around 27,928 mt of mustard seeds in the period from 1 July to 14 September 2025, 65.4% more than in the same period last year. At EUR 0.55/kg, the average import price was almost 34.5% lower than in the previous year, meaning that despite the significantly larger volume, the import value increased by only 9% to EUR 15.378 million.
The largest buyer within the EU during the above-mentioned period was Belgium, which is said to have increased its imports by a whopping 345.9% year-on-year to 12,530 mt. Poland also doubled its mustard seed imports to 7,650 mt, while Germany imported a similar volume to the same period last year at 4,620 mt.
|
EU mustard seed imports, in mt |
|||
|
Partner |
2024/25 |
2025/26 |
Diff. |
|
Brazil |
0 |
6,695 |
- |
|
Russia |
680 |
6,634 |
875.6% |
|
Canada |
6,004 |
6,520 |
8.6% |
|
Ukraine |
7,668 |
3,892 |
-49.2% |
|
Kazakhstan |
2,339 |
3,731 |
59.5% |
|
Others |
193 |
456 |
136.3% |
|
Total |
16,884 |
27,928 |
65.4% |
|
DG AGRI TAXUD Customs Surveillance System, 01/07-14/08 12075090 Mustard seeds, whether or not broken (excl. for sowing) |
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