World Grain - August 2022 - 40

REGIONAL REVIEW: CANOLA A LATE BLOOMER IN AUSTRALIA
Australian canola situation
(in 1,000 tonnes)
1,000
2,000
3,000
4,000
5,000
6,000
7,000
8,000
cally consuming only around one-quarter of production
and exporting the balance, " the attaché said. " Over the
last five years, on average, around 75% of Australia's
exports have gone to the European Union (EU), primarily
for the biodiesel market. However, trade with
China, Japan, United Arab Emirates and the United
Kingdom varies from year to year. "
The US official explained in a separate report on the
biofuels sector that, with no federal support for biodiesel,
little of its rapeseed crop is used for the domestic
diesel fuel market.
A further point made by the USDA attaché is that a
major difference between Australia's rapeseed and that
exported by Canada is that most of what Australia exports
to the EU is non-GM.
" Even though the primary use of Australian canola
Exports
Production
*Estimated **Projected
continent, " they said. " Australia has a national oilseed
crushing capacity of about 1.2 million tonnes per annum,
predominantly on the eastern coast. Crush capacity
expanded considerably during the 1990s, reflecting
strong growth in production and domestic demand. "
Supplier to the EU
As for the present, the attaché forecast the crush in
2022-23 at 1 million tonnes, down from 1.1 million in
2021-22.
" Crush volume had been stable for several years at
around 800,000 tonnes as cooking oil consumption in
Australia is fairly stagnant and merely increasing with
population growth, " the attaché said. " But with another
large harvest, albeit well below marketing year 202122,
the crush is expected to again be above past levels.
" With strong international canola oil prices, domestic
crushers are forecast to be encouraged to produce
at near capacity, but at a slightly lower level than the
2021-22 record canola production year.
" Canola production in Western Australia and South
Australia is almost entirely for exports, while canola
from eastern Australia is typically destined for
domestic crush with any surpluses sold on the export
market. "
The attaché also said Western Australia only accounts
for around 10% of the country's total rapeseed crush,
even though half the crop is produced in the state, suggesting
the reason is most of the feedlots, dairy, swine
and poultry users are in the east.
" In most years, domestic canola prices are closely
correlated to international prices due to Australia typi40
Area
harvested
in the EU is for the biodiesel market, importer preference
is for non-GM canola, " the report said. " This
enables the meal byproduct to be used in their livestock
industries. However, if the premium for nonGM
canola climbs too high, EU importers reportedly
have some flexibility in sourcing GM canola to meet
their demands. "
With increasing energy market prices and the primary
purpose of exports to the EU being for biodiesel
production, it is anticipated that the EU market will remain
strong for Australia.
" Over the last five years, Western Australia has, on
average, produced almost half of the national canola
crop but accounted for two-thirds of overall exports, "
the attaché explained. " In fact, about 97% of Western
Australian production is exported, of which 77% has
been to the EU.
" South Australia, although a smaller producer, has
similarly been focused on the EU export market. This
is due to the relatively small populations and limited
crushing facilities in these states. "
By contrast, New South Wales, has a sizable population
and what the attaché called " robust crushing
facilities. "
" Because of this, although New South Wales, on
average, accounts for one-quarter of production, over
the last five years it has only accounted for 5% of total
exports, " the report said. " Victoria produces a similar
amount of canola to New South Wales but exports almost
two-thirds of its production. It also has a more
diverse export destination being less reliant on the
EU market. "
Chris Lyddon is World Grain's European correspondent.
He may be contacted at: cajlyddon@gmail.com
We want to hear from you - Send comments and inquiries
to worldgrain@sosland.com. For reprints of WG articles,
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August 2022 / World Grain / World-Grain.com
2022-23**
2021-22*
2020-21
2019-20
2018-19
2017-18
2016-17
2015-16
2014-15
2013-14
2012-13
Source: US Department of Agriculture's Foreign Agricultural Service
http://www.World-Grain.com
World Grain - August 2022

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