Led by peas and lentils, stocks of most Canadian pulse and special crops were sharply higher as of Dec. 31, 2025 versus the previous year.
A Statistics Canada grain stocks report on Friday pegged total national lentil stocks as of Dec. 31 at 2.96 million tonnes, almost double the Dec. 31, 2024 level of 1.489 million and topping the previous December high of 2.41 million in 2019.
Dec. 31 pea stocks came in at 3.034 million tonnes, up 77.5% from 1.714 million a year earlier and the beating the previous peak of 2.836 million in December 2020.
Lentil and pea production was up sharply across the Prairies in 2025, with lentil output rising by more than 38% to 3.363 million and peas up nearly 1 million tonnes from a year earlier to 3.934 million.
Dec. 31 on-farm lentil stocks, at 2.786 million tonnes, were more than double the previous year’s 1.279 million, while commercial stocks dipped to 174,000 from 210,000 on Dec. 31, 2024. On-farm pea stocks were reported at 2.777 million, up from 1.41 million a year earlier, while commercial stocks fell to 266,000 from 304,000.
Total canaryseed stocks – both on-farm and in commercial hands - as of Dec. 31 came in at 265,000 tonnes, up 45.6% from a year earlier, while chickpea stocks jumped 84.1% to 442,000. Flax stocks were 42.3% higher at 464,000 tonnes.
Mustard stocks, at 229,000 tonnes, were up less than 1% on the year, and sunflower stocks were 2.6% higher at 194,000 tonnes.
