New Developments May Spur Mustard Demand

VANCOUVER - May 9/05 - SNS -- International demand for mustard seed stands a good chance of increasing at a faster rate than population growth in traditional consuming countries as new uses for the oilseed are developed.

Stan Skrypetz, Pulse and Special Crops Analyst, with Agriculture Canada's commodity analysis branch in Winnipeg, Manitoba says biodiesel is one of the most obvious alternate uses.

"Oil crushed from mustard seed can be used in the production of biodiesel, a fuel for compression-ignition engines coming from biological sources. However, the mustard seed oil price would have to be competitive with alternative sources, such as soybean oil and canola oil. Therefore, biodiesel might become a market for low quality mustard seed," Skrypetz said.

A more interesting alternative comes from success breeding yellow mustard seed varieties with higher mucilage levels. Breeders recently developed the Viscount, Ace and Andante yellow mustard varieties -- averaging 30% more mucilage than traditional varieties.

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