The Flax Council of Canada has been working on a new business plan.

Wayne Thompson, the Executive Director of Sask Flax, also serves as the Chief Executive Officer for FCC.

"We're working on our new business plan that focuses on market access issues to maintain the trade with the world and our customers. We have new customers that we're going to have to seek out as we continue to grow more flax and diversify our markets."

Thompson notes part of their new business plan is to encourage new memberships.

"We've got a core set of members that have been with the Flax Council of Canada for several years, but we want to broaden that membership. We do have a need to have more people around the table so we have a broader conversation and understand what other players that maybe aren't around the table right now are seeing and dealing with, so that we can benefit the industry in the broadest sense."

FCC Chair Erwin Hanley says the Flax Council sees a lot of potential for growth whether it's for the consumers, livestock or the industrial sector.

"Canada and the world are thinking about food supply and food security with even greater scrutiny today. We are working to increase memberships and take advantage of the growing demand for flax for the benefit of the entire flax value chain."

Thompson says they've been working on expanding market opportunities from their current key markets in China, the United States and the European Union.

"In the last year we have have a lot more demand from the European Union. We had a very good quality crop in 2020. And our safety and reputation continues to hold very strong with our European buyers and the demand has increased there. In China, the demand is still strong."

He notes we continue to have a lot of competition from Kazakhstan and Russia as countries that grow a lot of flax and have easy access to the Chinese market.

Stats Canada estimates put Western Canada's seeded flax acres for this year at 981,500 with Saskatchewan production expected to be around 772,000 acres, Manitoba's at 107,000 acres and 102,000 acres in Alberta.