indicatorThe Twenty-Four

Major crop prices stable in December

There was relatively little movement in the price of Alberta wheat, barley and canola

By Rob Roach, ATB Economics 9 February 2023 1 min read

The latest update from Statistics Canada shows that the average prices for Alberta’s three largest crops did not move much in December.

The price of wheat (excluding durum) in Alberta was down by 0.2% in December compared to November while the price of canola edged up by 0.7%.

Barley was the outlier with its price increasing by 3.5% on a monthly basis, but this is a modest change given recent price volatility.

Year-over-price growth remained strong with wheat up by 14.3%, barley by 22.7%, and canola by 10.3%.

The average prices of Alberta lentils and dry peas, however, were lower compared to 12 months earlier with lentils down by 11.2% and peas by 4.4%.

Cattle and hog prices have been coming down as the year closed, but were still above where they were at the end of 2021.

Cattle for slaughter prices were 8.6% higher on a year-over-basis in December 2022, cattle for feeding prices were 27.4% higher, and hog prices were 21.3% higher.

Answer to the previous trivia question: About 96% of Alberta’s international energy exports went to the United States last year.

Today’s trivia question: How many metric tonnes of wheat were produced in Alberta last year?

The average prices of wheat, barley and canola in Alberta have come down from record highs set in May and June of 2022

The average prices of wheat, barley and canola in Alberta have come down from record highs set in May and June of 2022


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