Canola growing in the Victorian Corinella Farms Portfolio. Photo: LAWD

AUSTRALIA exported 709,570 tonnes of canola in January, up 146 per cent from the December figure of 288,761t, according to the latest export data from the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS).

The January 2022 figure is up 28pc on January 2021 canola exports of 555,206t.

Belgium on 196,618t followed by Germany on 185,682t were the two biggest markets for January 2022 canola shipments, followed by France on 127,417t.

According to Lachstock Consulting’s March 2 Australian Vessel Lineups commentary, Australia’s 2021-22 (Oct-Sep) canola exports are expected to peak in March at around 1.1 million tonnes (Mt).

This will break the previous monthly shipment record set in March 2021 of 748,982t and is expected to be the biggest month in Australia’s record canola shipment year.

USDA forecasts Australian canola exports at a record 4.4 million tonnes (Mt), and ABARES last week lifted its forecast for current-crop production to 6.35Mt from 5.73Mt forecast in December.

Table 1: Australian canola exports for November and December 2021 and January 2022. Source: ABS