MarketsFarm — Although flax prices have held pretty much steady over the last few weeks, prices will soon increase, according to Dale Johnston of Johnston Seeds at Welwyn, Sask.
Johnston said prices for old-crop brown and yellow flax were presently about $24 per bushel. New-crop flax was at $18/bu.
“By the time we get done harvest, it’s going to be a lot higher than that,” he said, suggesting prices could top off at $28-$30/bu.
Drought and declining crop conditions across the Prairies have been driving factors behind increases in flax prices and those for other crops.
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Varied precipitation and warm temperatures were generally beneficial for crop development across Alberta during the week ended July 8, according to the latest provincial crop report released July 11.
In the June supply-and-demand report from Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada (AAFC), about 585,000 tonnes of flax were expected to be gleaned off of Canadian fields in 2021-22. That was to be an upward nudge of 1.2 per cent compared to the previous crop year and 16.9 per cent more than 2019-20.
“No one knows what’s going to come out of [harvest],” Johnston said.
Alberta’s weekly crop report issued Friday cited that province’s flax conditions at 31 per cent good to excellent, for a 23-point drop from the previous report two weeks earlier.
Flax in Saskatchewan was pegged at 23 per cent good to excellent in that province’s crop report on Thursday.
In Manitoba, flax was reported to be in the late flowering stage with boles forming, while plants were reported to be on the short side.
— Glen Hallick reports for MarketsFarm from Winnipeg.
