The monthly Canadian canola crush increased slightly in December compared to the previous month, hitting its highest so far in the 2025-26 marketing year.
Statistics Canada reported Friday that 1.076 million tonnes of canola were crushed in December, up about 2.2% from November and topping the previous marketing year high of 1.056 million posted in October. It also marked the fourth straight month the crush has exceeded 1 million tonnes.
The cumulative year-to-date 2025-26 canola crush (August to December) now stands at 5.061 million tonnes, compared to 4.919 million for the same period last year, up nearly 3% and representing 42.2% of the full-year Agriculture Canada forecast of 12 million tonnes.
In its January supply-demand update, Agriculture Canada left its 2025-26 crush projection unchanged from December, up 5% from last year and supported by abundant supplies and industry expansion of domestic processing. Canola crush has been on a steady rise since the drought year of 2021- 22, with growth averaging an annual rate of 10% over the past three years.
Cargill’s new canola crush plant at Regina – originally slated to open before the end of this year – has now been pushed back to spring 2026. The plant, once operational, is expected to process about 1 million tonnes of canola seed annually.
Canola oil production in December amounted to 456,281 tonnes, up from 445,187 in November and 426,519 in December 2024.
