For several months, jars of mustard have been scarce in food stores, due to the collapse of mustard seed production in Canada. Will this still last?
From Paris to Brittany, via the south of France and even… in Dijon: the whole country is affected by the shortage of mustard. In question ? The collapse of production in Canada, the world’s leading exporter of mustard seeds. And it could still go on.
A plummeting production
For good reason, in 2021-2022, “it is estimated that the production of mustard seeds fell by 28%” in Canada, according to a report from the Canadian Ministry of Agriculture dated last December, and this, because the country has notably suffered from a terrible drought which decimated the plantations.
A collapse which has two irreversible consequences: the increase in the average price of a tonne of seeds, which had reached a record this winter, at 1,700 dollars (1,510 euros). That is almost double that in 2020-2021 and a 50% drop in mustard production in France.
[A dérouler]
How climate change in Canada has doubled the price of Dijon mustard #AFP 1/10 pic.twitter.com/KRxLnqpuNe
– Agence France-Presse (@afpfr) December 18, 2021
Because the Dijon region, where the vast majority of French mustard manufacturers are located, depends very largely on Canadian farmers for the manufacture of this condiment consumed throughout the world.
A shortage at least until the end of the year
No change expected yet, even if the Canadian Ministry of Agriculture estimates that in 2022-2023, “producers will react to high market prices by maximizing the area sown”. With the key, a possible “return to normal” or “slightly below normal” in terms of yield.
However, the shortage should still “be felt all year round”, as the Dutch-British multinational Unilever, the world’s leading mustard producer, told Les Echos. “We will miss more than a third of our mustard seed needs to ensure our 2022 production volumes,” fears the company, a specialist in the agri-food sector.
She nevertheless hopes to “find the usual supplies as soon as the next seed harvest is received in October 2022”. In France, there is no doubt that the shelves will continue to be sparse in the coming months.
“French production will not be able to meet national demand,” lamented Marc Désarménien, general manager of the Fallot mustard factory, in Les Echos. Old fashioned mustard will still be desired.
