Canola is the number 1 revenue-generating crop on many farms and is one of a number of crops going into the ground this year.


Bruce Jowett, the Vice President of Market Development with the Canola Council of Canada, says the crop has experienced tremendous growth.

"Right now, this last year," he says, "we produced somewhere around 18 million tonnes of canola. If you go back to, you know, the early 90's when we were producing, you know, 3 million tonnes of production."

Statistics show that only about 10% of the canola produced in Canada stays in this country.

Our major buyers are United States, China, Mexico and Japan with another 50 countries consuming canola in some fashion.

Jowett adds it's important that our customers and consumers understand the advantages of canola meal or canola oil.

"One is from a coronary perspective," he says, "and it's an oil with the least unsaturated fats, so it's a very healthy oil. Number two is the nutritional aspects of canola oil and getting the nutritional community involved and engaged with it. And then the third is the culinary aspects."

He says the role of market development is to assure customers we have a consistent and stable supply.