Do you use non-GMO canola oil in your food products, or are you considering using it in the future?
Today we will overview of the popularity and availability of this oil. It will help you get a better picture of why manufacturers like you are using this oil and the state of the supply chain, both short and long term.
Demand For Non-GMO Canola Continues To Increase
Demand for non-GMO products continues to grow at increasing rates. Just in the last year, new products being released with the non-GMO seal increased by 50% from 2014 to 2015.
Non-GMO Canola Oil has been a key ingredient in many of these products, especially in the snack food industry. Here’s just some of the reasons why it is so highly in demand:
- Non-GMO canola oil is a simple and easy replacement to conventional GMO canola and soy, so it is a switch that R&D teams with conventional product lines can easily make.
- In years past, non-GMO canola oil has been more readily available than non-GMO soybean oil; however, this is changing and plenty of non-GMO soy is now available.
- It has a mild flavor which allows your products taste to shine through.
- It’s low cost in comparison to sunflower, safflower or other healthy or organic oils.
For all these reasons, this non-GMO canola oil has become a staple in snack products used in the natural sector. In my opinion, it outpaces all of it’s ingredient competition: safflower, non-gmo soybean, and sunflower oil (though this last one could be debated).
Supply Remains Steady (-ish)
Non-GMO canola mills have consolidated in the past year, leaving the world with very few major producers and a small number of up-and-coming producers of this oil.
Most mills run production in large chunks or sets based on forecasted demand. In between these production runs, the mills may shut down their facility to do other production for long stretches of time. With demand constantly on the rise, this can put a strain on the forecasts, sometimes causing supply to dwindle for days before it is fully restocked.
If you don’t have a contract it’s possible you may experience these fluctuations in supply as inventory becomes available for a block of time and unavailable again for a block of time.
If you need guaranteed availability and supply, it’s always helpful to lock in contracts with your suppliers for your volume needs.
Long Term Supply: Farmers Are Switching To Non-GMO Crops
To help keep up with the growing demand for non-GMO crops, farmers across the US are increasingly planting non-GMO seeds. It helps them both cut costs and earn more money for their non-GMO yields which will pay a premium.
Tim Daley, an agronomist at Stonebridge, Ltd., an Iowa-based buyer of non-GMO soybeans, is also seeing an increased demand for non-GMO seed by farmers. Daley says,
“Some companies have seen a 50 percent increase in sales of non-GMO seed, and some have said they’ve sold more non-GMO seed this year than in the last five.” (Source)
Farmers find non-GMO seed appealing for several reasons, but mostly it has to do with economics: a premium is being shelled out for non-GMO crops.
“Some farmers don’t want to pay technology fees (for GMO seeds) and non-GMO gives them a marketing opportunity,”says Morrie Bryant, senior marketing manager at Pioneer Hi-Bred. (Source)
Photo Credit: Jennifer Norris
Topics: Canola Oil, Non-GMO
