Oat prices remain under pressure

CNS Canada –– Oat prices continue having trouble breaking through key resistance figures as harvest winds down across the Prairies.

“They’re (prices) below what farmers like… having trouble breaking that $3 a bushel level in Manitoba and $2.50 in Saskatchewan,” said Ryan McKnight of Linear Grain at Carman, Man.

So far, he said, very few oats have been priced by commercial players when one looks at the deliveries from farmers. “So it seems they’re going into the bins.”

The basis is higher right now, according to McKnight, but with a large supply, he believes someone will step up sooner or later.

“Eventually somebody will come to play.”

Another issue that bears watching is water damage. McKnight said at least one crop in northern Saskatchewan has already seen some sprouting.

“They’ll take the sprouts as dockage, because the sprouts shatter when they’re dehulled,” he said.

End-users are basically covered until January, McKnight said, so there is time to sort through these issues.

Still, he said he doesn’t expect producers will start moving supplies for a bit.

“They’ll eat through their space before they’ll pay high basis,” he said.

— Dave Sims writes for Commodity News Service Canada, a Winnipeg company specializing in grain and commodity market reporting.