Receiving canola at Natimuk in Victoria’s Wimmera region. Photo: GrainCorp

AUSTRALIA exported 263,704 tonnes of canola in December, up 11 per cent from the November total of 233,931t, according to the latest data from the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS).

European crushers were the volume customers, with Germany taking two cargoes, and Belgium and France one each.

The December 2020 figure is also ahead of the December 2019 total, when 258,166t was shipped and Germany was again the volume buyer.

In its Oilseeds: December quarter 2020 report, ABARES forecast Australian 2020-21 canola exports at 2.7 million tonnes (Mt), with the European biodiesel market the major consumer.

This is up 71 per cent from the 2019-20 figure to reflect New South Wales’ recovery from drought and eastern Australia’s return to a significant export surplus.

ABARES said Australian canola was expected to regain some of the market share lost to Canada when production was significantly below average in 2018–19 and 2019–20 because of the drought which hit canola hardest in NSW.

Australian and Canadian canola are competing in the drought-affected European market.

However, Australian non-GM canola is projected to maintain its price premium because of its secondary value as non-GM meal in Europe’s dairy industry.

ABARES forecast for Australian canola production in the current crop year stands at 3.7Mt, up 59pc from the drought-affected 2019-20 level.

Table 1: Australian monthly canola exports for July to December 2020. Source: ABS

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