Canadian canola processing hits near record high in December, but slow exports hold back prices

According to Statistics Canada, in December, the volume of canola processing in Canada increased to 1.08 million tonnes, which was 6% higher than in December last year and was the second highest monthly result in history after the record processing volume in October 2024 (1.1 million tonnes).

Overall, from August to December, the country's canola processing volume reached a new high of 5.1 million tons, compared to 4.9 million tons for the same period in 2024.

The average production volume of canola oil has increased by 42.3% since the beginning of the season, while in August - December 2024 it was 42.1%.

Canola production in Canada increased from 17 million tons last year to a record 21.8 million tons, but the forecast for its exports has been reduced to 7-7.5 million tons (compared to 9.5 million tons in 2024/25 MY).

In the first 4 months of the 2025/26 MY, Canada exported only 1.4 million tons of canola (compared to 3 million tons in the same period in 2024), with only 0.2 million tons being delivered to China (2.6 million tons in August - November 2024).

The agreement to resume supplies to China from March 1 added optimism to the market, so March rapeseed quotes rose in January and reached the end-November level of 660 CAD/t or $481/t. But the strengthening of the Canadian dollar reduces the competitiveness of canola on the European market, as the discount to European rapeseed prices has decreased to $90/t, although earlier this season it reached $110-130/t.