In 2024, the worldwide oat market will be characterized by unprecedented expansion, challenging conditions in the medium term, and a positive prognosis for the long term. This was the 30,000-foot view that was offered to millers who were attending the spring meeting of the North American Millers’ Association, which took place in Florida this calendar month. Randy Strychar, president of Oatinformation, was in charge of handling the full breakdown of the oats market. His perspective on the market is supported by forty years of experience working in the oat industry as a trader, marketing manager, broker, and market analyst. During his presentation, Strychar described the oat market as one that “has seen dramatic growth over the past few years, certainly unprecedented.”
I’ve been working in this field for forty years, and I’ve never witnessed anything even quite like to this. Volume gains have been a big driver in this expansion and so has been the awareness of the positive value of oats in the minds of customers, and by far that the most essential element.” According to Strychar, the volume of worldwide oat and oat product trading has had a substantial slowdown, increasing by 5% to 12% in practically every part of the world. This trend is expected to continue into the year 2024. According to what he indicated, the slowdown has been more noticeable in breakfast cereals and snack bars than it has been in oat milk, which has predominantly remained stable.
At the same time, the worldwide supply of oats is getting close to reaching historic lows. Furthermore, there are crop concerns in both Europe and Australia, and the oat stocks in Canada are getting closer to the record low than they are to the typical carryover. Strychar stated that as a consequence of this, there is no cushion that will be carried into the 2024-25 crop year. Furthermore, the price patterns of wheat, corn, and barley, which have been keeping a lid on the oat market, are beginning to exert pressure on oat prices to decrease.
According to Strychar, “as we move forward, they are beginning to apply pressure to oat prices,” which is a statement that was made. “In Europe, we have noticed that they have started to fall from their highs. They have been drifting away from the highs for around eight to ten weeks in Canada. The economies of the world are gradually improving, and the prospects are looking very optimistic. Canada is anticipated to experience significant increases in oat area, whereas the European Union, the United Kingdom, and Australia are anticipated to experience moderate gains as they seed this spring. According to him, a continued slowdown in food inflation would be excellent news for meals and beverages that are based on oats. He also mentioned that recent trends have seen people purchase more private label varieties and brands that are less expensive.
