Prairie farmers are in the midst of harvesting a smaller but relatively good quality mustard crop, but bids for those supplies have little upside potential, with Eastern Europe sitting on a larger crop this year.
The western Canadian mustard harvest is about 25 per cent complete, according to Kevin Dick, president of All Commodities Trading in Winnipeg. Early reports, he said, were showing very good yields and quality, but sample sizes were small so far.
For what’s still out there, Dick said the weather at this point of the season was unlikely to cause any problems for the mustard, aside from possibly discolouring the seed if there were a heavy frost. “We’re in pretty safe territory right now.”
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As the harvest in southern Alberta presses on, a broker said that is one of the factors pulling feed prices lower in the region. Darcy Haley, vice-president of Ag Value Brokers in Lethbridge, added that lower cattle numbers in feedlots, plentiful amounts of grass for cattle to graze and a lacklustre export market also weighed on feed prices.
From a marketing standpoint, “Eastern Europe seems to have produced a bit of a crop,” he said.
With large local supplies in the region, European buyers are not showing any demand in the Canadian market. “There’s zero sense of urgency right now,” said Dick.
The lack of export demand would likely see Canadian buyers focus on bringing in contracted supplies first, he said, with any supplies grown on spec likely seeing spot bids decline.
Current mustard prices delivered to the elevator, according to Prairie Ag Hotwire data, top out at about 36 cents per pound for yellow, 33 cents per pound for brown, and 27 cents per pound for oriental.
