AI Analysis: Crushing statistics of major oilseeds

Executive Summary

Statistics Canada's monthly oilseed crushing dataset (Table 32100352) spans over 54 years (August 1971 to January 2026) and reveals that Canola (rapeseed) has become the overwhelming dominant force in Canadian oilseed processing, with crushing volumes surging +4,667% from early averages to recent peaks exceeding 1.1 million tonnes in a single month. Across 4,064 records and a combined 574 million tonnes, the data reflects a heavily right-skewed industry where Canola dwarfs all other oilseeds — Soybeans, Flaxseed, and Sunflower seed — in both scale and growth trajectory. The dataset provides a comprehensive macro-level view of Canada's oilseed crushing industry, tracking six process types from raw seed crushed through to oil and meal production.

Key Findings

• Canola (rapeseed) dominates Canadian oilseed crushing with a mean of 210,882 tonnes per period and a single-month record of 1,101,402 tonnes in October 2024 — far exceeding all other commodities.
• Canola crushing volumes grew by +4,667%, rising from an early average of ~51,396 tonnes to a recent average of ~2,449,965 tonnes, representing the most dramatic long-term trend in the dataset.
• The dataset covers 654 monthly periods from August 1971 to January 2026, totalling over 574 million tonnes across 4 commodities and 6 process types.
• The overall distribution is heavily right-skewed, with a mean of 141,273 tonnes versus a median of just 76,932 tonnes and a standard deviation of 179,257 tonnes, driven by Canola's outsized volumes.
• Flaxseed and Sunflower seed are minor contributors to Canadian oilseed crushing, with long-term means of just 3,013 and 1,134 tonnes respectively, compared to Soybeans at 55,132 tonnes.
• No extreme statistical outliers were detected using the 3× IQR method across 4,052 valid records, though 12 zero-value records were flagged as potential data anomalies requiring further investigation.
• The 'Seed crushed' process category recorded the highest mean value at 224,282 tonnes, reflecting its role as the primary input measure that drives all downstream oil and meal production outputs.