Flaxseed Production and Use: Past Trends and Future Prospects

Excerpts from the report: Recent declines in production and substantial loss of markets raise questions about flaxseed's long-term ability to compete with other crops for farm resources and with other products for industrial markets. Recent declines in production could be the result of short-term weather and price variations or of longer term change in flaxseed's competitive situation. If the condition is long term and chronic, it is necessary to know whether its origin is in production or in the markets, what the main causes are, and whether the situation will likely change within the next decade or two. This study attempts to answer such questions by evaluating flaxseed's competitive position (1) as a crop in the main producing areas and (2) as an industrial product in the major markets. Analysis of the competitive strength of the flaxseed crop mainly involves the relative costs and other conditions affecting its supply. Demand conditions, the chief concern of this report's later section on markets, are included here only as reflected in prices paid the farmer for flaxseed and competing crops. Discussion is divided into (1) production characteristics and trends, (2) costs and returns, (3) acreage and yields, and (4) support programs and price trends.