Total Canadian corn and soybean stocks as of Dec. 31, 2024 were both higher from a year earlier, with soy stocks hitting a six-year peak.
Statistics Canada’s grain stocks report on Friday showed national soybean stocks at the end of last year at 4.151 million tonnes, up almost 11% on the year and the highest since 2018 at 4.287 million. Meanwhile, national corn stocks were pegged at 11.317 million tonnes, a modest 0.2% year-over-year increase but well below the Dec. 31 2022 level of 11.862 million.
All the increase in total soybean stocks was due to larger on-farm supplies, up 34.3% to 2.78 million tonnes. On the other hand, commercial stocks fell 18% to 1.371 million. For corn, national on-farm stocks rose 9.8% to 7.91 million tonnes while commercial stocks fell 16.8% to 3.407 million.
Canadian soybean production increased 8.4% to 7.568 million tonnes in 2024, while corn output eased about 0.5% to 15.345 million.
Based on a total estimated 2024-25 Canadian corn supply of 19.541 million tonnes, the Dec. 31 stocks number implies Sept. 1 – Dec. 31 marketing year usage at 8.224 million, down 3.6% from a year earlier. StatsCan noted corn stocks as of Dec. 31 grew slightly, even as imports fell 52%, largely due to a decline in domestic feed use.
For soybeans, disappearance from the start of the 2024-25 marketing year to the end of 2024 was 4.43 million tonnes, versus 3.946 million the previous year.
On-farm corn stocks in the No. 1 production province of Ontario as of Dec. 31 were 4.31 million tonnes, up from 3.705 million in 2023. On-farm soybean stocks in the province were 1.36 million tonnes, versus 1.06 million a year earlier.
Manitoba on-farm corn stocks as of Dec. 31 were estimated at 874,000 tonnes, down from 979,000 in 2023. On-farm soy stocks in Manitoba were reported at 754,000 tonnes, well up from 422,000 the previous year.
