Stocks Rise Over Previous Year

OTTAWA - Feb 3/17 - SNS -- Total stocks of wheat, corn for grain and barley were up over the previous year on December 31, while stocks of canola, soybean and oats declined.

Total stocks of wheat rose 16.8% from December 31, 2015, to 25.0 million metric tons (MT). The gain in stocks reflected a 15.0% increase in wheat production in 2016. Stocks held on farm totalled 21.3 million MT, up 21.2% from December 31, 2015. Commercial stocks were 3.5% lower at 3.7 million MT.

Canola stocks were down 9.6% from December 31, 2015, to 12.2 million MT on December 31, 2016. On-farm stock levels fell 12.3% to 10.3 million MT. Meanwhile, commercial stock levels rose 9.5% over the same period to a record high 1.8 million MT. Canola production was virtually unchanged from 2015 to 2016 at 18.4 million MT.

Total stocks of corn for grain totalled 11.7 million MT on December 31, 2016, up 3.0% from the same date a year earlier. Both on-farm stocks (+2.2% to 8.8 million MT) and commercial stocks (+5.4% to a record high 2.9 million MT) contributed to this increase.

Total stocks of soybeans decreased 4.3% from December 31, 2015, to 3.4 million MT in 2016 as result of a 17.1% decline in on-farm stocks. Meanwhile, commercial stock levels rose 16.4% over the same period to a record high 1.6 million MT. This overall decline was attributable to a drop in on-farm stocks from 2.2 million MT in 2015 to 1.8 million MT in 2016.

Barley stocks rose 11.7% from December 31, 2015, to 6.4 million MT at the end of 2016. The gain was attributable to a 12.6% increase in on-farm stocks to 6.1 million MT. Commercial stocks fell 9.1% to 211 000 MT.

Total stocks of oats decreased 5.3% to 2.4 million MT as of December 31, 2016. On-farm stocks were down 5.4% from the same date in 2015 to 2.2 million MT. Commercial stock levels declined 4.1% to 211 000 MT.

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                         Canada - December 31 Stocks in All Positions
                                  (000 metric tons)
                        2014        2015        2016      Change     Change
                                                          2014-15    2015-16
Total wheat            25 596      21 431      25 031      -16.3       16.8
Durum wheat             4 087       4 231       6 901        3.5       63.1
Wheat excluding durum  21 509      17 200      18 130      -20.0        5.4
Barley                  5 431       5 686       6 352        4.7       11.7
Canola                 12 628      13 452      12 159        6.5       -9.6
Corn for grain          9 715      11 314      11 650       16.5        3.0
Dry field peas          2 286       2 373       2 687        3.8       13.2
Flaxseed                  592         754         595       27.4      -21.1
Lentils                 1 653       1 186       1 764      -28.3       48.7
Oats                    2 553       2 504       2 371       -1.9       -5.3
Rye                       129         144         278       11.6       93.1
Soybeans                3 317       3 546       3 393        6.9       -4.3