Canary Seed Marketing and Contracts
Canary Seed is used exclusively in wild birdseed mixtures. Several thousand tonnes are imported into the UK to supply this expanding market.
The kernel of Canary Seed is brown and is covered by a thin, papery, glossy yellow hull. It is the glossy yellow hull that makes it very attractive to birds.
The majority of Canary Seed comes from Canada, but there is increasing demand from UK birdseed packers for products to be sourced from the UK – hence there is an opportunity for UK growers to benefit from this shift.
In the UK, the wild birdseed market is now believed to be worth upwards of £200m/year and is steadily increasing year on year. Whilst in global terms the Millet market is small (certainly compared to most other arable crops) there is certainly scope for additional UK production.
One of the potential problems of "niche" crops like Canary Seed is movement and marketing.
To ensure grower peace of mind, all production is contract grown. Premium Crops has established links direct to the major birdseed packers.
For added security all contracts are on the basis of the "produce of the hectarage", so there is no risk to growers from being defaulted - very important with a crop that they could be unfamiliar with.
Premium Crops can offer cleaning and drying facilities
Click here to download details of the 2019 terms and costings