Farm Credit Canada's (FCC) Chief Agricultural Economist says the world's appetite for Canadian agricultural commodities and food continues to grow.

FCC has released its 2018 Trade Ranking Report looking at the effect market volatility has on exports, which JP Gervais says cuts both ways.

"It can produce hesitation among buyers and cause them to cut back on their purchasing because it's hard to plan ahead with volatility, but it can also lead buyers to actually hedge against higher prices. They feel that their prices are more likely to move up, and from a buying standpoint it can actually lead you to buy more."

Gervais notes during periods of high volatility, larger shifts are seen in Canadian soybean, pork and beef exports, and wheat and canola see smaller shifts as Canada is a large supplier of these commodities and it would be hard for buyers to find another source.

He says, the laws of supply and demand are in full effect.

"Bottom line is, if there are opportunities to sell more oilseeds in the market place, that should translate into a higher premium, a high price for producers. There's also the likelihood that the relationship between U.S. and China takes a turn for the worst, which would potentially lead to more tariffs and higher volatility, so I think there's a risk management lesson in all of this as well."

Gervais says from a marketing standpoint, there's more of an incentive to have a business risk plan given the current state of global trade.

The report shows Canada remains the fifth largest exporter of agricultural commodities in the world.

To read the full report, you can visit their website.