MarketsFarm — The steady flow of corn from the United States into Canadian feedlots should keep prices for domestic feed grains under pressure for the foreseeable future.
Canada imported 91,100 tonnes of corn from the U.S. during the week ended Nov. 2, taking the marketing-year-to-date total to 221,700 tonnes, according to the latest U.S. Department of Agriculture data. That’s nearly five times what moved during the same period the previous year.
An additional 576,200 tonnes of previously reported business are still outstanding, which compares with 102,600 tonnes at the same time in 2022.
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Total Canadian corn imports are forecast to hit three million tonnes in 2023-24, according to Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada data. That would be up from the 2.1 million tonnes imported the previous year, but still well below the 6.1 million tonnes brought up during the 2021-22 drought year.
While more U.S. corn is being imported, Canada’s own feed grain exports are down on the year. Canada exported 471,000 tonnes of barley through the first 13 weeks of the 2023-24 crop year, according to Canadian Grain Commission data. That compares with 756,300 tonnes at the same point the previous year.
Monthly Statistics Canada data through September shows that while China remained the largest customer, both malt and feed barley movement was down sharply on the year. Total Canadian malt barley exports through two months, at about 75,000 tonnes, compared with over 200,000 at the same point the previous year. Feed barley exports, of only 45,000 tonnes, were only about a quarter of what moved in August and September 2022.
— Phil Franz-Warkentin is an associate editor/analyst with MarketsFarm in Winnipeg.
