Australian growers, completing a canola harvest set to bust the record by even more than had been thought, are already planning for strong sowings of the oilseed for next year to capitalise on robust prices.

Seed companies are reporting "strong" sales of canola, some four months ahead of the sowing season, and while some growers are still tied up reaping the 2011 crop.

"The prospects for canola are once again strong," the Australian Oilseeds Federation (AOF) said.

The ongoing La Nina weather pattern, linked to wet weather in much of Australia, "could deliver a good moisture profile for planting in April".

Meanwhile, canola prices, as forecast, are "delivering growers a good gross margin, albeit possibly not as high as this year's", which the federation pegged at $450-490 a tonne in east coast ports.

Canola vs wheat

The prospect of high values of the rapeseed variant contrasts with the outlook for wheat, which analysts have warned faces price pressure following another strong harvest.

"Australian wheat values are likely to remain subdued versus other origins, particularly for lower quality grain," Luke Mathews at Commonwealth Bank of Australia said two weeks ago, after Abares, the official crop bureau, raised its estimate for the harvest to a record 28.3m tonnes.

Australia looks set for a record canola crop too, which the AOF pegged at 2.95m tonnes, up 320,000 tonnes from its forecast last month, and above Abares' figure of 2.5m tonnes.

"We have seen a significant and unexpected lift in yields across the country," federation spokesman Nick Goddard said.

"The cooler conditions experienced through much of the growing districts following flowering, together with a good moisture profile, set up ideal conditions for oil development in the seed in the lead up to harvest."

'Double bonus'

However, world prices are being supported by strong demand, notably from biodiesel plants in the European Union, which has tightened up on rapeseed supplies, saying they must come from sources deemed sustainable, a definition which some Australian farms meet.

"Not only has Australia experienced a bumper crop in all respects this season, but prices have remained firm, delivering a double bonus to growers," the AOF said.

"[Canola] prices are expected to be underpinned through 2012 as a result of an expected reduction in global oilseed production and, from Australia's perspective, ongoing strong demand for EU biodiesel."