Canadian Grain Stocks Tumble

OTTAWA - Sep 11/07 - SNS -- Season ending stocks of Canadian grain and oilseeds are down sharply from year earlier levels, according to Statistics Canada's survey of 17,300 Canadian grain farmers as well as commercial grain holders.

In the Prairie Provinces, on-farm stocks of most major crops as of July 31, 2007, were down to levels below their five-year averages. Farm stocks of canola and flaxseed fell, but remained above the five-year average. Farm stocks of corn in Eastern Canada remained high, above the five-year average. Stocks of soybeans declined from the record levels reported in July 2006.

Total stocks of wheat, which include on-farm and commercial stocks, were estimated at 6.8 million metric tons (MT), a decrease of 29.2% or 2.8 million MT from the same period in 2006. Lower wheat stock levels were the result of strong above-average export demand, brought on by a tight world supply-and-demand situation.

On-farm Prairie inventories of wheat were down 54.8% from July 2006 to 1.9 million MT. The five-year average is 2.3 million MT. Farmers reported decreases in all three Prairie Provinces. The largest decrease, 1.7 million MT, occurred in Saskatchewan, where stocks hit 880,000 MT.

Total stocks of durum wheat amounted to 1.2 million MT, down a sharp 62.2% from the record set in July 2006. The five-year average for July is 2.1 million MT. Export demand for durum wheat has increased considerably, the result of strong global requirements after several years of oversupply.

Durum producers in Saskatchewan and Alberta reported they held much less durum on their farms in 2007. On-farm stocks in Saskatchewan were down 83.0% to 230,000 MT, while Alberta farmers reported a similar decline of 75.9% to an estimated 70,000 MT. Commercial stocks also declined by 42.3% to 932,000 MT.

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