Saskatchewan has moved another step towards the provincial government’s goal of crushing up to 75 per cent of the canola grown within our borders.

Louis Dreyfus Company (LDC) will expand its Yorkton facility to accommodate an annual crush exceeding two million metric tonnes. The LDC canola crushing plant in Yorkton opened in 2009 and currently has 120 employees. Construction will begin later this year, but the company did not set a timeline for completion.

Two other canola crushing plants are undergoing expansion—Cargill at Clavet (southeast of Saskatoon) and Richardson in Yorkton.

Viterra and Cargill are also building new canola processing facilities in the Regina area with a scheduled completion due next year.

All the companies are acting in advance of the expected growth in the market for biofuels as Canada moves to meet emission standards.

Tracey Broughton is the executive director of SaskCanola.

Additional crushing capacity will reduce reliance on international markets for canola exports. While Japan and Mexico are stable customers, China can be unpredictable. The Chinese imposed tariffs on Canadian canola seed a few years ago in retaliation for the house arrest of a senior Huawei executive at the request of the United States. The restrictions are now over, and China has resumed large purchases of Canadian canola seed.

There is also substantial economic spinoff generated by employment at canola crushing facilities.