Mustard supply crunch fuels price spikes in Canada

MarketsFarm – As the world’s largest producer of mustard, a sharp decline in Canadian production has already made a major impact on supply and prices. Despite an increase in seeded acres, Canada’s mustard production dropped 28 per cent to 71,000 tonnes for the 2021-22 marketing year, according to Statistics Canada’s September crop report. Of the 118,000 tonnes of total supply, only 5,000 are projected to be carryout stock. “Everybody got their crop in. Some mustard was graded lower because of smaller seeds due to the drought,” said Rick Mitzel, executive director of the Saskatchewan Mustard Development Commission (SaskMustard). “I think overall the harvest is done and it’s gone over well. The yields obviously weren’t what they were expecting. It probably came in about half of normal, but the prices have adjusted for that, as well.” Mitzel added that hybrid types of mustard produced yields at least 20 per cent higher than open-pollinated types and were at better quality. Prices for ...