Canada could harvest its lowest wheat and canola harvests in years

Canadian farmers may harvest slightly more wheat and less canola than expected at the beginning of the summer, but harvests this year will be generally low due to drought, Reuters reports.

In particular, Statistics Canada analysts in a September report slightly increased the forecast for the wheat harvest in Canada in 2023 - to 29.8 million tons versus 29.5 million tons according to the August estimate. This is still 13% lower than the result in 2022 and will be the second lowest figure in the last 8 years.

At the same time, StatsCan experts predict that the durum wheat harvest in Canada this year will be may amount to 4.1 million tons (4.3 million tons according to preliminary estimates). This is 30% lower than the result in 2022 and will be the second lowest figure in the last 13 years.

The 2023 canola harvest could be 17.4 million tonnes, down from the previous forecast of 17.6 million tonnes and 7% behind 2022. Canada's current oilseed harvest could also be the lowest ever for the last 9 years.