Canada is the world’s second largest wheat exporting country, and a looming rail strike at the Canadian National Railway Co., Canada’s largest railroad could pose even greater difficulties for the country in transporting this year’s bumper crops to port. Canada exports two thirds of its wheat production and half of its canola. The country’s infrastructure is already stressed, and according to Agri-Food Canada total crop production in Western Canada is a record high 67.3 million tons. According to crop marketer CWB a bottleneck in Western Canada’s crop transport pipeline is already expanding the cash price paid to farmers by grain handles compared to the wheat futures price, and may prevent export sales as handlers want to avoid penalties for late delivery. The resulting massive Canadian harvest this year has led other railroads in the country to lengthen their grain trains by adding grain cars as vessels are anchored off of Vancouver Island waiting for cargo.
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