Stocks Report Disappoints Special Crops Sector

VANCOUVER - Sep 5/14 - SNS -- Canada's special crop industry was extremely disappointed with the latest stocks in all positions report from Statistics Canada because of the decision to drop inventory estimates for chickpeas, canary, mustard and sunflower seed. The report only covered field peas and lentils.

The decision to stop tracking stocks for those four special crops is a simple reflection of the fact production has dropped to levels which make it extremely difficult to accurately track inventory at the grower level. Production tends to be localized, which makes it hard to estimate inventory. The more widely grown the easier it is to gather enough data to come up with a statistically accurate estimate.

More worrying is the possibility this report is a signal that Statistics Canada will also stop estimating production of those crops. In recent years, some numbers have come under intense scrutiny. This is especially true of canaryseed, where more product was exported in 2013-14 than was officially available at the start of the marketing year.

Statistics Canada bases its stocks in all positions estimates on telephone surveys of 12,850 Canadian farmers between July 23 and August 4. Data on commercial stocks of western major crops originate from the Canadian Grain Commission. Data on commercial stocks of special crops originate from a survey of handlers and agents of special crops.