(Resource News International) — Cash bids for flaxseed in Western Canada have managed to improve slightly, although producers continue to be hesitant to commit to the crop in the spring.
“A lot of producers are in limbo, and are awaiting developments before deciding to go with the crop this spring,” said Richard Zacharias, general manager for Prairie Flax Products at Portage La Prairie, Man., explaining that the crop seems to be in a state of transition.
There has been a bit more optimism surrounding the crop, but there also still remains a fair amount of uncertainty, he said.
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“The Flax Council of Canada apparently left this week for a meeting with European Union officials to discuss the protocols for Canadian flaxseed as well as to see if they could raise the zero tolerance on genetically modified (GM) organisms allowed in flax,” Zacharias said.
There also continues to be a lot of discussion, both at the government and producer levels, on whether flaxseed growers in Canada will need to use certified seed when they seed this spring, he said.
“If there was some sort of guarantee that producers, who use registered flaxseed seed varieties, would not end up with Triffid in their harvest, then there might be more willingness to accept this proposal among producers, but as of right now there are no guarantees.” he said.
Once some of these doubts have been resolved, Zacharias said, then there may be more willingness among producers to give some thought to seeding flax this spring.
“Some hope”
As for the slight improvement in cash bids, the firming has more to do with some demand popping up for flaxseed.
Zacharias said he managed to ship a cargo of flaxseed to Brazil that tested “Triffid-free” both in Canada and in Brazil. “This kind of news helps to spur some hope,” he said.
“Triffid” refers to CDC Triffid, a never-commercialized GM flax variety that was deregistered in 2001 at the behest of a flax industry that feared losing market access to Europe if a GM flax were introduced. But trace amounts of the Saskatchewan-bred Triffid began showing up in Canadian flax in the EU in September.
Cash bids in Manitoba for flaxseed are currently ranging anywhere from $8.50 to $9 a bushel, depending on the region, Zacharias said.
Cash bids for flaxseed delivered to the elevator in Saskatchewan, based on data from Prairie Ag Hotwire, currently range from $8.35 to $8.70 a bushel, in Manitoba around $8.68 and in Alberta from $8.12 to $8.81.
In the middle of December, cash bids for flaxseed, delivered to the elevator in Saskatchewan, ranged from $8.10 to $8.29 a bushel and in Alberta from $7.67 to $8. No bids were available from Manitoba at that time.
