Canadian canola stocks ended the 2025-26 marketing year heavier than a year earlier, boosted by sharp rise in production.
Statistics Canada reported Wednesday that total canola stocks stood at 1.899 million tonnes as of July 31, up 18.9% from 1.597 million tonnes at the same point in 2025. The Statistics Canada stocks figure also came in above Agriculture Canada’s August supply-demand estimate, which had projected 2025-26 canola ending stocks at 1.725 million tonnes.
The larger carryout came as the 2025 Canadian canola crop reached a record 21.809 million tonnes, well above the 19.239 million tonnes produced in 2024.
The year-over-year increase in stocks was driven entirely by farm inventories. On-farm canola stocks jumped 121.4% to 837,000 tonnes, up from just 378,000 tonnes a year earlier. Commercial stocks moved in the opposite direction, falling 12.8% to about 1.1 million tonnes.
Saskatchewan farmers held 361,000 tonnes of canola at the end of July, up from 144,000 tonnes a year earlier. Alberta farm stocks increased to 240,000 tonnes from 95,000, while Manitoba inventories rose to 137,000 tonnes from 87,000.
Despite the increase, total Canadian stocks remained well below the 3.225 million tonnes held on July 31, 2024.
Strong domestic processing helped prevent the bigger 2025 crop from translating into a much heavier carryout.
Statistics Canada said industrial use, comprised mostly of crushing, increased 13% to a record 12.9 million tonnes during 2025-26 as Canada’s processing industry continued to expand to meet renewable fuel demand. Exports, meanwhile, declined 4.5% to 9 million tonnes. Statistics Canada said the export decline was largely tied to slower movement during the first half of the marketing year, when tariffs imposed by China reduced demand.
