OREANDA-NEWS. February 03, 2015. Canadian stockpiles of wheat and canola at the end of 2014 dwindled from the previous year but were still among the biggest in recent decades, according to a Reuters survey of nine traders and analysts ahead of a Statistics Canada report.

All-wheat stocks in commercial and on-farm storage dropped 13 percent to 25 million tonnes as of Dec. 31, 2014, according to the average estimate. That would be the second-biggest supply total at the end of a calendar year since 1996.

Canola stocks were an estimated 10.7 million tonnes, down 14 percent, and the second-most ample on record.

Statistics Canada, a government agency, surveyed farmers from Jan. 2 to 12 for its report scheduled for Wednesday, Feb. 4.

Farmers reaped smaller but still relatively big crops last autumn, and there were also ample supplies that carried over from the record-large 2013 harvest.

While wheat stocks may be large overall, top-quality durum wheat is in short supply after cool, wet weather late in Western Canada's growing season and the smallest global durum crop in 13 years.

Canada is the world's largest durum and canola exporter, and second-biggest wheat shipper.

Ample Canadian wheat supplies are unlikely to pressure global prices much because US wheat futures prices already look technically over-sold and there are questions about how much wheat Black Sea region countries might export, said Errol Anderson, president of industry newsletter Pro Market.

Canola demand may slow late in the current crop marketing year as crushers shut down for maintenance and Asian buying eases, potentially pushing July 31, 2015 stocks higher than expected, Anderson said.

The report is one of three by Statistics Canada - the other two measure stocks as of March 31 and July 31, with the latter the most-watched as it gauges stocks at the end of the crop marketing year.