2011/2012 Canadian Grass and Legume Seed Exprts Overview: Since the wrld ecnmic meltdwn in the fall f 2008, Canadian grass and legume seed exprts have seen a steady decline in exprt quantities. until this past crp year. Fr the first time since the 2006/07 crp year, Canadian grass and legume seed exprts shwed an increase frm the previus year. Canadian exprts were up 113.7% frm 2010/11. Since Canada des nt have actual prductin numbers, it is believed that a lt f carry-in inventries mved this past crp year. Prductin acres f mst grass and frage seed species in Canada have been falling fr a number f years nw, especially with grwers seeing better cash returns frm annual crps, especially wheat and canla. Canadian Grass and Legume Seed Exprts by Species: Exprts fr the crp year were up by ver 12 millin lbs. (frm 91.35 t 103.88 millin lbs.) cmpared t 2010/11 exprts. The main cntributrs (by species) t this increase were: Alfalfa seed, up 1.4 millin lbs. Smth brme grass, up 470,000 lbs., meadw brme grass up 220,000 lbs. Creeping red fescue, up 7 millin lbs., Perennial ryegrass, up 6.0 millin lbs. Fr 2011/12, Perennial ryegrass exprts seed exprts ranked first in vlume exprted (27.24 millin lbs.), with a big chunk f this ttal (13.85 millin lbs.) destined fr the USA. 2011/12 exprts are up ver 6 millin lbs. frm the previus year. Creeping red fescue ranked 2 nd, with ver 27.06 millin lbs. exprted, Hwever, this is a far cry frm the 10 year average annual exprt figure f 38 millin lbs. Of this ttal, 18.73 millin lbs. fund a hme in the USA. Alfalfa seed exprts, at ver 15 millin lbs., ranked 3 rd in Canadian exprts. This is ver 1.4 millin lbs. abve the previus crp year s exprt number f 15.05 millin lbs.; it is still well belw the 10 year average annual exprt figure f 21.33 millin lbs. Bird s-ft trefil exprts shwed a 111% increase frm the previus year, resulting in 1.7 millin lbs. exprted, cmpared t 810,000 lbs. in 2010/11.
Lw Canadian grass and legume seed inventry and lw prductin numbers these past few years has resulted in increased values t the exprt trade. 2011/12 saw the ttal grass and legume seed trade value climb ver $110 millin dllars, up significantly frm the 2010/11 value f $76.85 millin. $69.9 millin wrth f Canadian seed was exprted t the USA. Canadian Grass and Legume Seed Exprts by Destinatin:
The USA remains ur number ne imprting natin (2011/12 = 64.39 millin lbs.). These 64.39 millin lbs. represents ver 60% f Canada s ttal grass and Legume seed exprts fr 2011/12. Only 10 cuntries imprted ver 1 millin lbs. f seed in 2011/12, with nly tw f these cuntries imprting ver 10 millin lbs., the USA and China (10.13 millin lbs.) Canadian Grass and Legume Seed Exprts, Selected Cuntries: USA Exprts t the USA nly increased by 3 % last year, (2.3 millin lbs.) made up primarily f increased alfalfa seed imprts (certified alfalfa up by 1.2 millin lbs., cmmn alfalfa imprts by 2.6 millin lbs.). Canada s tp tw grass seed crps imprted by the USA, perennial ryegrass and creeping red fescue, fell by 300,000 lbs. and 2.1 millin lbs. respectively. Creeping red fescue (18.7 millin lbs.), perennial ryegrass (13.8 millin lbs.) and alfalfa (12.2 millin lbs.) made up the majrity f the USAs 64.39 millin lbs. f Canadian grass/legume seed imprts. As well, seed mixtures accunted fr anther 8.4 millin lbs. f imprts. Sweet clver imprts by the USA rse by 147% frm 2010/11 (t 1.1 millin lbs. imprted). Red clver seed imprts were at 1.4 millin lbs., near the 1.3 millin lbs. f imprts in 2010/11. Meadw brme grass seed exprts t the USA are finally making headway, as it has traditinally been used dmestically. Althugh ttal exprts remain steady, 2011/12 saw exprts t the USA increase 388% (frm 80,000 lbs. t 300,000 lbs. in 11/12)
China China dubled her imprts frm 2010/11 t 2011/12 (5.01 t 10.13 millin lbs.).
China was back in the Canadian market fr alfalfa seed, increasing its imprts in 2011/12 t 1.02 millin lbs. fr certified seed, and 845,000 lbs. fr cmmn alfalfa seed. This is up substantially frm 10/11, which shwed alfalfa seed imprts at 280,000 lbs. and 166,000 lbs. respectively fr certified and cmmn alfalfa. It wasn t just alfalfa that shwed marked increased in imprt quantities, as red clver seed imprts were up by 180% ( t 636,000 lbs., frm 355,000 in 2010/11), tall fescue imprts up by 235% (t 844,000 lbs., frm 358,000 lbs. in 2010/11), Kentucky bluegrass (t 113,000 lbs. frm 38,000 lbs. in 2010/11), perennial ryegrass (t 4.54 millin lbs. frm 2.78 millin in 2010/11), and crested wheatgrass (t 953,000 lbs. frm 380,000 in 2010/11). Hwever, a big dwnfall was encuntered in creeping red fescue imprts, as China nly imprted 66,000 lbs. in 2011/12, cmpared t 952,000 lbs. in 2010/11. The Netherlands The Netherlands, Canada s 3 rd largest grass/legume seed trading partner in 2011/12, imprted 9.78 millin lbs. f seed. Grass and legume seed imprts int the Netherlands increased 67% frm 2010/11. Perennial ryegrass accunted fr ver 2.84 millin lbs. f this ttal, creeping red fescue imprts at 2.18 millin lbs. (all certified seed), fllwed by alfalfa seed (1.23 millin lbs.). Clse t a millin lbs. f red clver was als imprted frm Canada (950,000 lbs.). Russia Althugh Russia ranked 9 th n Canada s list f main grass and legume seed imprts, Russia went frm 90,000 lbs. f grass/legume seed imprts in 2010/11 t ver 1.07 millin lbs. in 2011/12. The increase in Russian imprts was made up f nly tw categries, certified alfalfa seed, which went frm 44,000 lbs. imprted in 2010/11 t 97,000 lbs. in 2011/12. Hwever, the biggest increased ccurred in Seeds f frage plants, nt elsewhere specified, which basically is the exprt categry fr grass/legume seed mixtures. Exprt vlumes increased almst 2000%, ging frm 49,000 lbs. in 2010/11 t ver 960,000 lbs. in 2011/12. Canadian Exprts by Prvince Manitba, with its diverse grass/legume seed prductin areas, and strng perennial ryegrass seed prductin, nce again led all Canadian prvinces as the leading grass/legume seed exprting prvince (46.8% f ttal Canadian exprts). Alberta exprts std at 34.3%, made up primarily f the Peace River regins creeping red fescue and the Brk s areas alfalfa seed. Cmpared t the previus year, Manitba s exprts increased by 8.5 millin lbs., while Alberta s exprts increased by 5 millin lbs. Hwever, withut actual yearly prductin numbers, much f this increase in vlume in exprts is credited t carry-in inventries. Existing stcks f mst grass and legume seed species are nw at lw levels.
Summary: With revenues fr annual crps at very attractive levels, grass and legume seed prductin acres in Canada, in the freseeable future, will be dwn. With very lw carry-in stcks, the 2011/12 Canadian grass and legume seed exprts recvery may nly be a blip n a bumpy rad dwn. The wrld ecnmy is still n shaky grund. Nrth American cattle numbers are still recvering frm drught and herd liquidatin. Prices t grwers fr frage grass and legume seed will cntinue t be abve histrical price levels, but hw much seed will be prduced and available in upcming years will be the questin. David Wng Market Specialist, Alberta Agriculture and Rural Develpment Grande Prairie, AB E-mail: david.k.wng@gv.ab.ca PH: 780 538-5289 Octber 1, 2012