There have been a few sales of Canadian flax into the US in the last week, but likely not enough to offset the quiet Chinese demand. Flax bids have been $12.70-$13.00/bu picked up on #1 quality, while milling bids are in the $14.00-$14.25/bu range, FOB. Yellow flax prices also staying sideways around $16.00/bu in some cases. There has been some new crop business done on both, call us for pricing. Lower Canadian supplies are keeping bids from slipping, but also there aren’t any components to boost prices much higher. It is unknown if Russia will have continued supplies to keep shipping at strong levels, but what we do know is that Canada will struggle to compete in that market now that Kazakh flax is entering China. While the current situation in China could put some business on hold, take advantage of the flicker of opportunities that arise.

The oat market has been rather quiet this past week, which is pretty par for the course over the last few weeks. That being said, prices have been stronger than previous years at this time primarily due to quality concerns over this year’s crop.  Prices on good quality #2 CW oats have been trading around $3.25 – $3.50/bu FOB the farm. The closer you are to Manitoba the better the price gets. The feed oat price has been trading between $2.50 – $2.80/bu FOB the farm. This value is heavily dependent on location. If you are looking for the most up to date prices, please call your Rayglen merchant.

In general, we’ve started to see prices softening on feed barley this week as there isn’t as much demand on the buyer’s end. Look for pricing to hover around $3.40 – $3.80/bu picked up on farm for Mar/Apr movement on dry, heavy product. That being said, there is still some pretty solid pricing in western Sask and Alberta, the closer you get to feedlot alley. Flipping to the malt market, prices continue to skulk along as nothing new has shaken out on interest or pricing of old crop. On the other hand, we have seen the odd location entertain new crop malt (Metcalfe variety only) with 60bu/ac Act of God. So, if the possibility of getting some new crop on the books perks your interest, give your merchant a call.

Canary markets remain the same again this week with price ranging between 29 – 30 cents delivered. Movement is starting to run into late spring to early summer.  The buying side has been quiet as most are trying to clean up their Jan-March contracts at this point in time.  Buyers are still reluctant to sign up new crop contracts, but we suggest throwing out firm targets. Summertime might bring on some trades if new crop conditions are less than optimal and buyers feel they need more coverage before new crop is harvested.

Lentil markets continue to be soft this week. Red lentil bids are sitting in between 20 -21 cents delivered with movement out until April. Some buyers have pulled their bids all together as we all wait to see what the Indian harvest is going to produce for quantity and quality. The Gulf Food show takes place next week and maybe something comes out of that show for an update on world pulses. There are a couple of buyers still looking for #1/X2 large green lentils around the 26 cent FOB farm number. Regular #2 large greens are trading around 22 – 23 cents FOB farm. 

The canola market got a little bump up today with the March futures trading at $463/MT at time of writing, up almost $4. The increase follows strength in the whole veg oil market, as per reports. Various issues are still in the foreseeable future for Canola though; first, lack of imports from China due to trade issues are still relevant. Second, the coronavirus has ports shut down providing hurdles to incoming products and finally, talk of rail shutdowns due to roadblocks in BC add another element to the ambiguity of the local buying situation. Most bid indications we are hearing are in the mid $9/bu range with values pushing a little higher into summer months, back up to $10 delivered to plant. At this time the canola market is just something a lot of guys are keeping an eye on to see if some rallies pop up.

Soybean futures have staged a modest comeback from Feb 3^rd lows. Recent WASDE report added a bit more support by raising US exports by 50M bushels. Support also came through the veg oil complex with Malaysian palm oil short-covering pushing palm oil futures higher. On the other side of the coin, Brazilian new crop prospects continue to weigh on market gains with an ever-escalating 4.59B bushel crop. Moreover, speculation persists as to the impact coronavirus will have on Phase 1 trade negotiations and trade execution. Local soybean bids are trading in the range of $9.50/bu picked up on farm. The USDA showed total production of dry beans down 16.6% from the previous year, despite planted acres being up 3.1.  Difficult growing conditions followed by even more difficult harvest conditions throughout most growing regions have led to reduced production levels. Conditions were similar in Canada and has thus been supportive for prices. The faba market remains solidly supported but seems to have a price ceiling for the quality that Canada generally produces. Feb/Mar shipping with #2 export quality bids ranging from $9.00-$9.50/bu picked up on farm. Feed faba bids trading a little plus or minus either side of $6.00/bu picked up on farm. Very little interest in purchases beyond Feb/Mar shipping, thus a good time to explore marketing fabas.

The pea market has seen very little changes from last week on the price side. Yellow peas are at $6.90/bu delivered, green peas are $11.00/bu delivered and maple peas are $8.50/bu delivered. Where we are seeing concern is in the yellow pea market with China’s situation. The bulk of our yellow pea exports go into China and the coronavirus has brought uncertainty to the markets. The main question is, “when will China will come back to the market”, and this is the question that has many traders uneasy with our current environment. New crop bids are slow to pop up but yellow peas at $6.00/bu delivered and green peas at $8.00/bu delivered seem to be where buyers feel comfortable entertaining offers.

Imagine you are in a sensory deprivation tank and your hour is up but the attendant never comes back to open the door. It is silent, cold and you are wondering, when will this end?! That is the chickpea market. Current values unchanged at $0.24-0.25/lb with a similar value for new crop. There is very little information floating around about the fate of chickpeas over the next couple of months and with that, the buyers show no interest in taking a position. All the cards seem to be in the hands of mother nature and the way it plays out for the coming crop. Poor weather could mean a force-feeding of carry from previous years and heightened value. Average weather translates to more of the same sensory depriving market. It’s been said and it will continue to be said, offers are the best way to find the true value of the market and get a bit of “shine” out of this grey zone chickpea market.

Mustard old and new crop markets remain unchanged this week as grower lament over what is the chosen oilseed for the coming season. Spot old crop and new crop Yellow mustard are at parity which is unusual at this time of year with bids at $0.38/lb FOB and could mean an opportunity to lock in above-average values for the coming production. Brown mustard is a similar situation with old and new crop bids at $0.28/lb FOB farm and Oriental old crop at $0.25 vs $0.28/lb FOB farm for new crop. There is still an opportunity to get in on an IP program which takes a bit of extra work but also has a premium for your time. Call for opportunity options. If you are looking for Certified seed at a competitive price call us for details as well to discuss the options for this year’s rotation.

Feed wheat markets are flat this week, which has been the case for some time now. Heavy and dry feed wheat/durum bids are trading between $4.50-$5/bu FOB farm with movement starting to get pushed out to April/May timeframes for the strongest bids. The closer you are to southern Alberta, the better the price gets. We do have some possible premium opportunities in Saskatchewan for higher protein feed wheat as well, so be sure to let us know your specs to firm up the price. Milling quality HRS wheat bids are still looking good for movement in the summer around $6.50/bu delivered to plant. 1 CWAD bids are still at $8/bu FOB farm in southeast Saskatchewan with bids softening the further north and west you get.

Rayglen Market Comments are for informational purposes only. Rayglen Commodities and its agents or employees shall not be liable for any loss or damage suffered by any person as a result of reliance on any of the contents contained within these products, whether such loss or damage arises from negligence or misrepresentation or any act or omission of its agents or employees.