Canadian canola stockpiles as of March 31 were up by more than one-quarter compared to a year earlier.
A Statistics Canada grain stocks report Wednesday showed total national canola stocks as of the end of March at 9.985 million tonnes, up 27.4% from a year earlier and the heaviest March 31 stocks level since 2020 at a hefty 10.859 million tonnes. At 8.516 million tonnes, March 31 on-farm canola stocks were up 30.1% from a year earlier, while commercial stocks increased a much more modest 13.8% to 1.469 million.
March 31 on-farm canola stocks in the largest production province of Saskatchewan were reported at 4.329 million tonnes, up 24.3% from 3.48 million the previous year. Alberta on-farm stocks were almost 1 million tonnes or nearly 55% higher at 2.805 million, while Manitoba on-farm stocks increased 8% on the year to 1.255 million tonnes.
Based on a total estimated 2025-26 canola supply of 23.511 million tonnes, the March 31 stocks number infers Aug. 1 to March 31 canola usage of 13.526 million tonnes, down from 14.76 million during the same period a year earlier. If March 31 to July 31 canola usage remains the same as last year at 6.238 million tonnes, that would mean a 2025-26 canola ending stocks level of 3.747 million, about 1 million higher than is currently being forecast by Agriculture Canada.
According to StatsCan, 2025-26 canola exports as of March 31 were down 25.1% to 5.1 million tonnes, because of a slower export pace earlier in the marketing year, “likely because of tariffs from major trading partners that had been in place.” On the other hand, domestic use of canola — largely for crushing — continued to reach new records for the period, rising 6.1% to 8.5 million tonnes as the crushing sector expanded to meet demands for renewable energy, the federal agency said.
Data for the on-farm stocks component of principal field crops, as of March 31 are modelled using survey estimates and administrative data. Data on commercial stocks of western major crops originate from the Canadian Grain Commission.
