Canola Seed Suppliers

Canola Seeds Trading & Distribution Solutions

We work with canola seed suppliers, traders and producers to help address the consistent growth in demand for this versatile product in markets throughout the Americas, Europe, the Middle East and Asia.

Our pulse team’s experience in agricultural commodity supply, transportation, storage and distribution enables us to create value and growth opportunities for canola seed suppliers and buyers in markets around the world. For more information about our wholesale canola seed products & solutions, get in touch with a member of our international pulses trading desk.

About Canola Seeds

Canola is a member of a large family of plants called crucifers. Crucifers are easy to identify because the four yellow flower petals form the shape of a cross. The canola plants grow to a height of one to two metres. The yellow flower produces seed pods that are about 5 centimetres in length. There is an average of 60 to 100 pods per plant. Each seed pod contains 20 to 30 tiny, round seeds which are 1 mm. in diameter. When it is ready to harvest, the plant changes colour from green to light yellow. These tiny seeds are crushed to extrude canola oil.

Canola is a cool season crop. It grows particularly well on the prairies, where cool nights and hot days allow it to develop its unique fatty acid profile. Canola belongs to a section (or genus) of the crucifer family called Brassica. Brassica plants include mustard, Brussels sprouts, cabbage, cauliflower, broccoli and turnip. Brassicas are a major source of food in many countries, notably Canada.

Product Origins

History suggests that canola (rapeseed) was cultivated as early as 2000 B.C.E. in India, and was introduced into China and Japan about 35 B.C.E. References to its use appear in the earliest writings of European and Asian civilizations.

Rapeseed plants have the ability to grow at relatively low temperatures with far less heat units required than other oilseed crops. Therefore, rapeseed was one of the very few oil sources that could be successfully grown in temperate extremes. This led to rapeseed being grown in Europe as early as the 13th century. In later centuries, rapeseed was used for both cooking and lighting, as its oil produced a smokeless white flame. Rapeseed had a rather limited industrial acceptance until the development of steam power, when it was discovered that rapeseed oil would cling to water and steam washed metal surfaces better than any other lubricant. It was this special property that led to the introduction of rapeseed into Canada.

The need for Canadian rapeseed production arose from the critical shortage of rapeseed oil that was needed by Allied forces during World War II and were supplied by Canada to break the blockade of European and Asian sources in the early 1940s. The oil was urgently needed as a lubricant for the rapidly increasing number of marine engines in naval and merchant ships.

	Global Pulse Confederation (GPC) The Global Pulse Confederation (GPC, formerly known as CICILS IPTIC) represents all segments of the pulse industry value chain from growers, researchers, logistics suppliers, traders, exporters and importers to government bodies, multilateral organizations, processors, canners and consumers.
	India Pulses and Grains Association (IPGA) India Pulses and Grains Association (IPGA), is the apex body of India’s pulses and grains industry & trade and its membership encompasses market participants along the value chain. The association has a pan India reach of over 10,000 stake holders involved in the farming, processing, warehousing and import business of Pulses across the entire value chain.
	Canadian Special Crops Association (CSCA) Established in 1987, the Canadian Special Crops Association is a non-profit alliance of over 100 processors, exporters and service providers engaged in the production and trade of Canadian pulses and special crops – including peas, lentils, chickpeas, beans, mustard, canaryseed, sunflower and buckwheat. CSCA members include individuals, partnerships, corporations and other legal entities engaged in the growing, export, merchandising, brokerage and supply of pulses.
	Pulse Canada Pulse Canada is the national association representing pulse suppliers & traders, as well as the growers and processors of Canadian pulses including dry peas, beans, lentils and chickpeas. The organization is focused on creating efficiencies through the elemination of pulse trade barriers by ensuring continued market access in key regions, keeping crop protection products available to growers and advocating for the improvement of domestic grain transportation.