News
03.08.2009
Canadian wheat exports the largest in nearly a decade
The Canadian Wheat Board (CWB) announced on July 30 that wheat exports are the largest in nine years bringing in the second-highest revenues in history for Western Canadian farmers.
Ian White, CWB president and chief executive officer, said the 2008-09 crop year was marked by strong sales to important new wheat markets in Iran and Saudi Arabia and record bulk exports of Prairie malting barley at record prices for producers.
"The strength and stability of the Canadian grain industry has been a bright spot in the gloomy economic environment over the past year," White said at the CWB's annual crop year-end news conference.
The CWB exported about 18.5 million tonnes of wheat, durum and barley during the crop year, the highest volume since 1999-2000 and up over a million tonnes from last year. CWB net revenue is estimated at more than C$6 billion — second only to last year's C$7.2 billion.
However, Larry Hill, CWB board chair, cautioned that poor weather across the Prairies continues to create concern for the 2009 crop. "Looking ahead, it is now quite certain that drought and cold weather will take a toll," said Hill, who farms near Swift Current, Saskatchewan, Canada. "We will need near-perfect weather for the rest of the growing season and into the fall to preserve the quality of this year's crop."
The CWB also released its second official Prairie-wide crop production estimates for 2009 in which it lowered its all-wheat projections by 600 000 tonnes to 20.2 million tonnes from the last official estimates released in June. The new production estimates are about 20% lower than this year's production, estimated at 25.5 million tonnes, according to the board. The new estimates include durum production of 4.2 million tonnes, down 200 000 tonnes from the June estimates, while barley is down 300 000 tonnes to 8.6 million tonnes.
In addition to poor weather, market volatility and fluctuating currency values continued to pose challenges during 2008-09. But White said the CWB's yearlong marketing approach and risk management practices helped stabilize farmer returns.
"The effects of the global financial crisis began to increasingly influence agricultural commodities as the crop year progressed," White said. "In such uncertain times, the CWB's focus on orderly marketing and careful risk management is particularly valuable."
CWB said producers' pooled earnings for malting barley are the highest ever: C$5.37 per bushel in Saskatchewan, C$5.54 in Manitoba and C$5.57 in Alberta (after freight and handling deductions) — up about four per cent from the previous year. Returns for high-quality spring wheat are expected to be C$6.61 per bushel in Saskatchewan, C$6.76 in Manitoba and C$6.82 in Alberta — down about 20% from last year's record-high returns, but still the second highest on record. For high-quality durum, projected returns are C$8.47 in Saskatchewan and C$8.56 in Alberta, a 30% drop from last year's price peak.
World Grain
