Canola - Production and Trade

Production and Trade

Rapeseed was once considered a specialty crop in Canada, but Canola now has become a major American cash crop. Canada and the United States produce between 7 and 10 million tonnes of canola seed per year. Annual Canadian exports total 3 to 4 million tonnes of the seed, 800,000 tonnes of canola oil and 1 million tonnes of canola meal. GM canola may not be grown in jurisdictions that have not approved GMOs. Within the United States, 90% of the canola crop is grown in North Dakota.

Rapeseed is the highest-producing oil-seed crop in the USA. An Oregon State University researcher has determined that growing winter for hybrid Canola seed appears possible in central Oregon, USA, but the state prohibits it from being grown in Deschutes, Jefferson, and Crook counties because it may attract bees away from specialty seed crops such as carrots, which require bees for pollination. The rapeseed blossom is a major source of nectar for honeybees.

The major customers of canola seed are Japan, Mexico, China, and Pakistan, while the bulk of canola oil and meal goes to the United States, with smaller amounts shipped to Mexico, China, and Europe. World production of rapeseed oil in the 2002–2003 season was about 14 million metric tons. In the 2010–2011 season, world production is estimated to be at 58.4 million tonnes. The United States is a net consumer of canola oil, having used 3 billion pounds in 2010, 2.5 billion of which was imported from Canada.

The main price discovery mechanism for worldwide canola trade is the ICE Futures Canada (formerly Winnipeg Commodity Exchange) canola futures contract. Rapeseed is traded on the Euronext exchange.