Reading Time: < 1 minute Flax prices continue to ride the upswing the oilseed experienced in May, said Scott Shiels, grain procurement manager for Grain Millers Canada in Yorkton, Sask.

Flax retaining May gains
StatCan projects smallest planted area in 76 years

Canada’s expected flax area smallest since 1950
Other commodity prices outperforming flax
Reading Time: 2 minutes MarketsFarm — Blue flowery fields of flax will be fewer and farther between in Western Canada, according to Statistics Canada’s (StatCan) first survey-based seeding intentions report for 2023-24. In a report released late last month, StatCan projected only 689,000 acres of flaxseed to be planted this spring, an 11.6 per cent decrease from the year […] Read more

Price drop not enough to lift demand for Canadian flax
Russia, Kazakhstan competitive in export markets
Reading Time: 2 minutes MarketsFarm — While flax prices in Western Canada have fallen by at least half from what they were one year ago, they are still too high to be competitive on a global level, according to one flax processor. Mike Popowich, owner and vice-president of TA Foods Ltd. at Yorkton, Sask., said demand for the crop […] Read more

Flax Council of Canada seeks new chief
Wayne Thompson moving to WGRF
Reading Time: 2 minutes Canada’s national market development organization for flax and flax products is officially in the market for a chief executive. The Flax Council of Canada said Tuesday its search for a new president is underway, after Wayne Thompson announced in August he has left the position to become executive director of the Western Grains Research Foundation […] Read more

Scoular fires up flax processing near Regina
Plant to process flax for food- and feed-grade markets
Reading Time: 2 minutes U.S. grain handler Scoular’s Canadian arm has opened a new flax processing operation at its site just southeast of Regina, into what it describes as a record-strong flax market. Scoular Canada on Wednesday announced the opening of its “high-speed” flax line at Richardson, Sask., where it already processes and cleans lentils, peas and canary seed. […] Read more

Highs may be in on flax as attention turns to new crop
Reading Time: 2 minutes MarketsFarm — The highs may be in for flaxseed bids in Western Canada, with end-users covered for the time being as attention turns to the 2022 crop. “(Canadian flax) is expensive relative to other markets,” said analyst Marlene Boersch of Mercantile Consulting, speaking via Zoom in Winnipeg on Tuesday to the annual Crop Production Week […] Read more

Canadian flax prices, exports going up
Reading Time: 2 minutes MarketsFarm — High demand and an accompanying increase in overseas exports have resulted in reduced domestic supply for Canadian flaxseed, helping drive prices for the crop to highs unseen in years. Marlene Boersch, owner of Mercantile Consulting Venture in Winnipeg, said the amount of flax from Canada going to the U.S. and European Union is […] Read more

Flax Council of Canada to shut office
Reading Time: 3 minutes The national promotional agency for Canada’s flax industry plans to move forward without a bricks-and-mortar office starting next month. The Flax Council of Canada announced Monday its downtown Winnipeg office, which it shares with the Manitoba Flax Growers Association, will close effective Jan. 31. Going forward, the council said it will “continue to operate on […] Read more

Prairies tell a tale of two flax crops
Reading Time: < 1 minute CNS Canada — A large portion of Canada’s flaxseed crop is still in the field, leaving questions over the size and quality of what will eventually be harvested. About a third of the flaxseed crop is still left in the field in Saskatchewan, by the estimate of Tom Leier, senior grain buyer with Scoular Special […] Read more

More downside than upside for Prairie flaxseed bids
Reading Time: 2 minutes CNS Canada — Flaxseed prices remain strong in Western Canada, but that strength is relative and there are more bearish than bullish factors in the background which should weigh on values over the next few months. Spot flaxseed bids can currently be found in the $13-plus per bushel area, while new-crop is in the $11 […] Read more