Canola Crushing Key to Future Industry Growth

A new report from Rabobank says expanding Australia’s domestic canola crushing capacity will be critical to growing the nation’s oilseed industry over the next decade.

The report, Harvesting the Future: How Far Can Australia Scale Canola Crushing?, forecasts annual canola production could rise from recent averages of six-and-a-half million tonnes to around seven million tonnes, supported by gains in cropping area, genetics and agronomy.

RaboResearch analyst Vitor Pistoia says growing global demand for biofuels has driven strong growth in Australian canola production in recent years, but much of that growth has been through higher seed exports rather than local processing.

He says increasing domestic crushing capacity would create more value-adding opportunities within Australia, while also improving price stability and grower confidence.

The report says regions with greater crushing capacity already tend to experience more stable pricing than export-reliant areas such as Western Australia - which remains the nation’s largest opportunity for future supply growth.