Agricultural Products:

Grains and Oilseeds > Oats

Oats

Canada is the world's largest exporter of oats and is expected to account for 70-80% of world oat exports in 2006-2007. Oats represents about 6% of the production and exports of grains and oilseeds in Canada. The value of Canadian exports of oats and oat products increased to $224 million in 2005 from $192 million in 2004. For 2006-2007, the production of oats in Canada increased by about 10% from 2005-2006. Canadian exports, predominantly to the United States (US) food market, are expected to increase to a record high. The average price of oats is expected to increase from 2005-2006, due to the strong demand for corn in the US related to the biofuel market. (Agri-Canada)

The major commercial markets for oats are:

The Milling market - Oats that meet stringent purity requirements, have good groat yield, uniformity, and color. Grade normal desired are No.1 and 2 Canadian Western (CW) Oats.

The Performance feed market: High quality horse feed

The General feed market: Mainly for beef cattle and horses, this market is highly competitive with other feed grains, especially corn, since the market is quite price-responsive with a high degree of substitutability. The lowest value oats are generally sold in this market.