Canada: Canola crush capacity use back to normal

Canada’s canola crushers are weathering the storm, according to an organization that represents them. “The canola crush industry is hanging in there,” Chris Vervaet, executive director of the Canadian Oilseed Processors Association (COPA), told delegates attending Canola Week 2025. However, he quickly added a caveat. “I don’t want to give anybody the impression that we’ve had a terrific year on canola crush. We’ve had some real challenges.” Why it Matters: Domestic crush has become more important than exports. Those challenges include a 100 per cent tariff on Canadian canola oil and meal implemented by China on March 20, 2025. China doesn’t buy much oil, but it was Canada’s second largest market for meal behind the United States, consuming two million tonnes of the product in 2024. Canada’s canola crush capacity utilization fell as low as 65 per cent following China’s announcement, but it has bounced back in the second half of 2025 and is now hovering around 90 per cent, which is ...