Canola Price Today - View Live Price South Africa ☑️ (2025)

Quick Overview of Canola

✔️An overview of canola and its development
✔️How to trade canola
✔️Drivers of the price of canola
The uses of canola
Conclusion

An overview of canola and its development

Prior to the 1970s, canola could not be produced, for the simple reason, it did not exist. Today, canola is one of the world’s important oilseeds and one of the crops most widely grown in Canada.

Not only has the canola plant a deep root system that can penetrate soil faster than wheat, but figuratively, its roots are also deeply embedded in Canadian history. It is rightfully called the plant ‘made in Canada.’

Two Canadian researchers, Baldur Stefansson, and Keith Downey developed canola through traditional plant breeding from rapeseed, reducing the undesirable amount of erucic acid in rapeseed.

The name ‘canola’ is a contraction of the words ‘Canadian oil, low acid’ and was registered in 1979 in Canada. Although, in China and Europe, canola is referred to as ‘double low rapeseed,’ referring to its low levels of erucic acid and glucosinolates.

According to the Canola Council of Canada, to use the name canola, canola products are required to measure up to the internationally regulated standard, stating: ‘Seeds of the genus Brassica (Brassica napus, Brassica rapa or Brassica juncea) from which the oil shall contain less than 2% erucic acid in its fatty acid profile …’ (Accentuation by the article writer.) Brassica napus, Brassica rapa, and Brassica juncea refer to the three different species from which canola varieties have been developed.

Canola is a type of rapeseed. Both canola and rapeseed belong to the larger mustard family Brassicaceae, as do broccoli, mustard, cauliflower, cabbage, and Brussels sprouts. The seeds of canola and rapeseed appear almost identical.

Contrary to canola’s relatively short history, according to historians, rapeseed was cultivated as early as 2000 B.C. The crop was introduced in Japan and China about 35 B.C. Centuries ago, rapeseed oil was used in lamps in Europe and Asia.

During the Second World War, rapeseed oil was effectively used as an important lubricant in steam engines and for ships, due to its ability to stick to wet metal.

Rapeseed had been grown in Canada since 1936, mainly in the province of Saskatchewan.

Some of the characteristics of canola:

It is a broadleaf crop.
Canola plants grow about 1 metre to 1.5 metres (three to five feet) tall.
They produce small, beautiful yellow flowers, which produce high amounts of nectar, making it a major source of nectar for honeybees and other pollinators.
Canola roots can grow down at approximately 2cm per day.
The pods, which develop from the flowers, resemble pea pods and contain tiny round seeds with a black-brownish colour, similar in size to poppy seeds.
Canola seeds contain about 35 to 45 percent oil.

Canada and China are by far the two leading global producers of canola, with Canada holding the top position, producing more than twenty-five percent of the global supply of canola. Other top canola producers in the world are India, Germany, and France. Australia is also a major role player in the production of canola.

The Canola Council of Canada reports that Canada is the top exporter of canola in the world. Almost 90 percent of canola grown in Canada is exported to more than fifty countries in the world, of which the USA is the leading buyer of canola oil and meal. The top importers of raw canola seed from Canada are China, Japan, and Mexico.

In Canada, the crop is primarily grown in the western provinces of Alberta, Saskatchewan, and Manitoba. Farmers in Canada started to grow canola in 1974.

In the USA, almost 2.2 million acres (almost 890 300 hectares) of canola were planted in 29 states in 2025. North Dakota (79%) is the main canola-producing state, followed by the states of Montana (7.7%), and Washington (5.4%). Canola plants were planted by USA farmers for the first time in 1988.

Canola is an excellent crop to grow in rotation with other crops, such as wheat.

Canola is considered a crop that has the ability to adapt to different temperatures. It is usually grown in regions with annual rainfalls between 450 mm and 700 mm. Canola grows well in well-drained soils with a pH between 5.5 and 8.3.

Two types of canola are grown, namely spring and winter, referring to when they are planted.

Spring canola

Spring canola grows in northern regions in the world with cold winters. For example, in Canada and in the Northern Plains of the USA in, among other states, North Dakota, South Dakota, Wyoming, and Montana.

This type of canola, constituting the majority of US canola production, is planted in rows in March and harvested in September to October.

Winter canola

This type of canola is produced in European countries such as Germany and France and in China. Winter canola is also grown in the Southern Plains of the USA in states such as Kansas, Oklahoma, and Texas, to name a few.

When grown in similar environments, winter canola will yield twenty to thirty percent more than spring canola because it is not damaged by harsh winter temperatures.

Winter canola is planted in September and October and harvesting starts in spring in the Northern Hemisphere and ends in June.

In the Pacific Northwest region of the USA, including states such as Washington and Oregon, both spring and winter types of canola are grown.

Canola seeds grow in pods, containing about 20 to 40 seeds per pod.

Canola is harvested mechanically, using combines, short for combine harvesters, combining three essential harvest functions, namely reaping, threshing, and winnowing.

The seeds are threshed from the pods by the combine. Subsequently, the seeds, which contain 35 -45% oil, are crushed and processed into oil and meal.

There are several reasons why farmers choose to grow canola. One of the main reasons is that canola demand exceeds canola supply. Some other reasons cited by the U.S. Canola Association are:

The crop enhances farm economics because it increases yield in cereal, soybeans, and other crops that follow canola. Furthermore, growing canola does not require any other equipment than used in the production of other oilseed crops.
Canola is an outstanding rotational crop that disrupts pest and disease cycles in cereal-dominated cropping systems. It provides diversity, allowing farmers to use different herbicides.
Canola enables improved weed management.
The taproots of canola plants can break up dense soil, making canola good for soil health. The canola’s ‘deep root system can take up nutrients not accessible to wheat roots and increases water infiltration.’ In addition, canola’s herbicide resistance makes tillage unnecessary, improving overall soil conditions.

How to trade canola

Canola is traded as an agricultural commodity. The crop is also referred to as a soft commodity because it is grown and not mined or extracted like hard commodities such as gold, platinum, or palladium.

There are various ways to trade canola:

Canola futures

Canola futures are mostly traded on the Intercontinental Exchange (ICE) Futures Canada, which is an agricultural exchange and the first fully electronic exchange in North America.

The ICE offers a canola futures contract which is the world benchmark for canola trading. The contract has, inter alia, the following features:

ICE Markets describes the contract as follows: ‘The contract prices physical delivery of canola seed free-on-board trucks or rail cars in the par delivery region in Saskatchewan.’
The contract trades electronically and is quoted in Canadian dollars (CAD).
Delivery months are January, March, May, July, and November.
The contract size is 1 contract = 20 tonnes. A combination of 5 contracts is called a ‘1 board lot.’

A canola futures contract allows a trader to buy canola as the underlying commodity at a predetermined price on a specified future date. As a derivative instrument, futures contracts have their pitfalls. For instance, if prices of the commodity fall, traders are required to deposit additional funds in their trading accounts to maintain their leveraged positions.

At their expiration dates, the contracts are physically settled, which makes it difficult for ordinary investors to trade canola with futures contracts.

Canola options

Canola options are also available to trade canola as a commodity. A canola option is also a derivative trading instrument, allowing traders/investors the right, but not the obligation, to purchase (when it is a call option), or to sell (when it is a put option) canola as the underlying commodity at a specified price on or before a specific date.

Canola contracts for difference (CFDs)

Another way to trade canola is to make use of canola CFDs, which is also a derivative trading instrument, allowing traders to speculate on the price of canola.

The value of a canola CFD is based on the difference between the price of the commodity at the time of purchase and the current price, which is the most recent selling price of the commodity.

Bear in mind, that CFDs are complex trading instruments, involving a high risk of incurring losses quickly due to leverage.

Obtaining shares in publicly traded companies, which are exclusively involved in the production, processing, and sale of canola is not available because there are not such companies. Although, international companies involved in food processing and trading of agricultural commodities are a possibility.

Trading with commodities, including an agricultural commodity such as canola, requires a qualified and experienced commodity broker. In this regard, refer the article, ’10 Best Canola Commodity Forex Brokers,’ published by SA Shares.

10 Best Forex Brokers in South Africa for 2025

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Canola Price

Quick Overview of Canola

An overview of canola and its development

How to trade canola

Drivers of the price of canola

The uses of canola

In conclusion