Australia ships 600,853t March canola in record half year

Australia exported 600,853 tonnes of canola in March, up 1 percent from the 592,027t shipped in February, according to the latest data from the Australian Bureau of Statistics.

The United Arab Emirates on 169,938t was the biggest market for March-shipped canola, followed by Germany on 148,004t and France on 96,672t.

At 3.4 million tonnes shipped in the first half of the 2022-23 marketing year has set a new record for canola exports, and is up 28pc on the record 2.66Mt shipped in the corresponding 2021-22 period.

In its latest Supply and Demand Report – Canola, Lachstock Consulting said it is forecasting area for the Australian 2023-24 crop being down 7-15pc across the board, with lower prices, high input costs and the increased chance that we are heading into a drier year all contributing factors.

“Rotational constraints after two big canola years will also be a limiting factor, although a great autumn break across southern New South Wales, Victoria, South Australia and southern Western Australia has provided some confidence,” Lachstock said.

The report said canola prices have eased considerably over the past month on ample global supply and falling oil prices.

“Excellent EU and Black Sea crop conditions and another big Canadian crop on the cards has not helped, nor have recent upward revisions to Brazil’s mammoth soybean crop.

“High global inflation has impacted demand for oils and a lack of any meaningful rebound in China demand has also pressured markets.

“At this stage, it will take a significant production issue in the Northern Hemisphere or here later in the year to change the supply-and-demand fundamentals that are currently pressuring canola prices.”

China has in years past been a volume buyer of Australian canola, and may return as a buyer if its relationship with Canada does not improve following the development of a diplomatic stoush between the two countries.

Table 1: Australian canola exports from 1 October 2022 to 31 March 2023. Source: ABS

Tags: Australia, export, canola, EU, France, crop, Black Sea, Germany, United Arab Emirates, Market, demand