Alberta is a major producer of canola, wheat and cattle, so it bodes well that the prices for these products have been on the rise, says ATB.
According to the latest numbers from Statistics Canada, the price of canola (Alberta’s largest crop by total dollar value) increased 10 months in a row, reaching $646.56 per metric tonne in April — 34 per cent higher than the five-year average.
The story is similar for Alberta’s second largest crop, with wheat prices increasing every month since September 2020. At $282.46 per metric tonne, the price in April was 16 per cent higher than the five-year average.
Things have been more uneven in the cattle sector. After pulling back three months in a row last fall and falling by one per cent in March, cattle prices rose by six per cent in April to land at $145.73 per hundredweight. April’s price was six per cent higher than the five-year average.
Hog prices have been on a tear in recent months, rising by 60 per cent since the start of the year to reach $113.72 per hundredweight in April (51 per cent above the five-year average).
Prices were also above the five-year average for oats, barely, lentils, peas, chickens, milk and eggs.
The price improvement has been driven by tight global supplies and increased international demand. In keeping with this, the value of exports of agricultural products from Alberta was up sharply over the first three months of the year.