Canadian stockpiles of lentils as of Dec. 31, 2024, were up from the year-ago level while pea stocks were lower.
The Statistics Canada grain stocks report released Friday showed total nationwide lentil stocks as of the end of last year at 1.59 million tonnes, up 38% from the year-ago level of 1.15 million and the heaviest for the date since 2020 at 1.861 million. On the other hand, total nationwide pea stocks as of Dec. 31 fell 10.6% on the year to 1.686 million, the lowest since the 2021 drought year at 1.593 million.
National on-farm lentil stocks as of Dec. 31 were reported at 1.38 million tonnes, up from 948,000 the previous year, while commercial stocks, at 210,00 tonnes, were up from 202,000 on Dec. 31 2023.
Dec. 31 on-farm pea stocks were slightly higher compared to a year ago, rising to 1.382 million tonnes from 1.304 million, but commercial stocks were down to 304,000 from 583,000.
Meanwhile, Dec. 31 stocks of other pulse and special crops were mixed versus the previous year.
Total canary stocks came in at 177,000 tonnes, up 50,000 or 39% on the year and highest since 2009 at 206,000. On-farm canary stocks increased to 164,000 tonnes from 116,000 on Dec. 31, 2023, while commercial stocks ticked up to 13,000 tonnes from 11,000.
Chickpea stocks as of Dec. 31 were reported at 246,000 tonnes, versus 153,000 a year earlier and the highest for the date since 2021 at 312,000. Farm stocks increased 84.7% to 218,000 tonnes but commercial stocks fell to 28,000 from 25,000.
Total mustard stocks as of Dec. 31 jumped 43% on the year to 228,000 tonnes, the highest since 2005 at 303,000. On-farm mustard stocks increased to 214,000 tonnes from 145,000 a year earlier, while commercial stocks were steady at 14,000.
In contrast, total flax stocks as of Dec. 31 2024 were down 16.6% on the year to 326,000, the lowest since 2021 at 253,000. On-farm flax stocks fell to 294,000 tonnes from 337,000 and commercial stocks dropped to 32,000 from 54,000.
At 189,000 tonnes, Dec. 31 sunflower stocks were 12% lower on the year. On-farm sunflower stocks were estimated at 186,000 tonnes, compared to 209,000 on Dec. 31, 2023, while commercial stocks fell by half to 3,000.
