Canada leads global oat exports, with the United States and Mexico as its main destinations.
For the 2025-2026 marketing year (August-July), the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) projects that Canadian exports of this product will increase by less than 1% due to increased exportable supply and strong demand.
Global oat exports
From January to October 2025, global exports of Canadian oats totaled 1 million 282.2 tons, 4.8% more than in the same period in 2024, according to data from Statistics Canada.
Globally, Canada accounts for 63% of world oat exports.
In the 2023-2024 cycle, when Canadian exports of this product totaled 1.50 million tons, 1.11 million tons were shipped to the United States, followed by Mexico (183,000 tons) and Chile (51,000 tons).
According to the U.S. Chamber of Commerce (USCC), the area devoted to oat cultivation in the United States has declined steadily since the 1940s, as farmers have opted to plant other crops.
There is no longer a viable system for growing, storing, and transporting U.S. oats from farms to mills on the scale required for conventional foods.
At the same time, Canada is the world’s largest producer of oats, and more than 90% of the oats milled in the United States come from its northern neighbor.
The USCC reports that thousands of jobs in the United States depend on oat imports for food production. Similar examples can be seen in pulp, fiber, coated board (cansheet), and other inputs.
Canadian production
In the 2023-2024 season, oat production in Canada was 2.64 million tons. Subsequently, in the following marketing year, it fell to 3.36%. However, a partial recovery to 3.51% is expected for the 2025-2026 cycle, according to the USDA.
Oats are mainly used for human consumption, such as cereals, flakes, and vegetable drinks. They are also used as animal feed. They are also used in industrial and pharmaceutical ingredients, as well as in cosmetic products, due to their fiber and protein content and functional properties.
On the trade front, Canadian oat exports declined from 1.50 to 1.47 million tons in the marketing years ending in 2024 and 2025. Finally, the USDA estimates that this volume will increase slightly to 1.48 million in the current cycle.