Total stocks of Canadian wheat as of March 31 slipped marginally lower compared to a year earlier, although durum supplies inched higher.
Thursday’s Statistics Canada quarterly grain stocks report showed all wheat stockpiles as of the end of March at 15.421 million tonnes, down 1.2% from the same date a year earlier. At 2.003 million tonnes, March 31 durum stocks were up from 1.951 million the previous year, while wheat (excl durum) stocks fell to 13.419 million tonnes from 13.65 million.
Excluding March 2022 when all wheat stocks dropped to just 11.414 million in the wake of the 2021 Prairie drought, this year marked the lowest March 31 all wheat stocks since 2016 at 14.379 million tonnes.
Still, provided total wheat usage between March and the end of the crop year on July 31 remains similar to the same period a year earlier at just over 11 million tonnes, 2024-25 ending stocks should land near Agriculture Canada’s current projection of 4.4 million tonnes.
According to StatsCan, off-farm wheat deliveries to March 31 rose 6.6% to 24.9 million tonnes, while exports climbed 9.1% to 18.3 million tonnes. Higher wheat exports were driven by durum wheat (+56.1% to 3.7 million tonnes), which rebounded after lower-than-average exports in 2024, the federal agency said.
On-farm all wheat stocks as of March 31 amounted to 11.318 million tonnes, down 7.6% from last year, while commercial stocks, at 4.104 million, were up 22.6%.
On-farm all wheat stocks in Saskatchewan as of March 31 were reported at 4.875 million tonnes, up nearly 3% on the year. On the other hand, durum stocks in the province fell about 3% to 975,000.
Alberta on-farm all wheat stocks were down 13.3% at 4.183 million tonnes, with durum stockpiles down a sharper 26% at 248,000. Manitoba on-farm all wheat stocks, at 1.906 million tonnes, were 11% lower compared to a year earlier.
March 31 on-farm all wheat stocks in Ontario came in at just 165,000 tonnes, down more than 59% from the previous year’s 406,000.
