Australia displaced Canada as the world leader in canola exports in 2022, with 4,927 million dollars, a year-on-year growth of 123 percent.

Meanwhile, Canadian external sales of this product were $4,397 million, down 14 percent over 2021.

Other major exporters of canola, also called rapeseed, were Ukraine, Belgium and France.

According to Burcon Nutrascience Corporation, canola is the North American name for the improved variant of rapeseed first developed and introduced in 1974, when a Canadian researcher created a «double-low» variety of rapeseed with reduced levels of the two negative elements naturally present in rapeseed: erucic acid and glucosinolates.

This type of oilseed rape is known in Europe and parts of Asia as rapeseed or oilseed rape and has become the world’s second largest oilseed crop.

The growth of rapeseed as an international crop can be attributed to three factors: the ability to grow it in temperate climates; favorable production costs; and a beneficial fatty acid profile for the oil, with a high monounsaturated content.

Canola exports

Yield10 Bioscience says canola is grown on 20 million acres in Canada and generates an estimated $25 billion for the Canadian economy, according to the Canola Council of Canada.

Moving forward, the Canadian government expects the value of Canadian canola exports to reach a record $6.1 billion in 2022-23, reflecting high world prices and high production and export volumes.

It also estimates the value of those exports to fall to $4 billion in 2023-24, due to falling production and prices.

Despite being a 34% drop from 2022-23, the value of exports is expected to remain well above average and would be the third highest value on record.

Finally, exports are forecast to fall 27% to 5.1 million tons in 2023-24 due to lower production, but will be supported by high stocks from the 2022-23 crop.