By Alice McFarlane

Trade and technical missions highlight the value of Canadian Wheat

Feb 12, 2024 | 4:02 PM

Each year Cereals Canada visits its many trading partners to discuss the previous growing season and quality of the wheat crop.

The New Crop Trade and Technical Missions made stops in key markets for Canadian wheat in Asia, Latin America, Europe, Africa, and the Middle East.

Four delegations traveled to 17 countries to present the 2023 New Wheat Crop Report to global customers.

The delegations were made up of Cereals Canada trade and technical experts, exporters, and commissioners and staff from the Canadian Grain Commission (CGC), along with grower representatives from Grain Farmers of Ontario, Alberta Grains, Saskatchewan Wheat Development Commission, and Manitoba Crop Alliance.

Cereals Canada chief executive officer Dean Dias said seminars and meetings were held in each city to provide local buyers, millers, bakers, and processors with technical information.

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“The Trade and Technical Missions are the culmination of our annual harvest assessments,” Dias said. “The Missions allow us to share information on the quality and functionality of Canadian wheat, but the true value lies in the opportunity to build relationships with our global customers and make new connections.”

This year’s missions included a stop in Manila, Philippines, home to Canada’s new Indo-Pacific Agriculture and Agri-Food Office (IPAAO). The office was opened in late 2023 after significant and sustained advocacy by the Canadian grains sector.

The Indo-Pacific region presents a growing market for Canadian cereals, according to Dias.

“In the Philippines alone, millers presently use nearly 200,000 tonnes of Canadian Western Red Spring Wheat (CWRS) annually, and there is potential for further expansion,” he said. “We want to ensure that when they need high quality, high protein wheat, Canadian wheat is top of mind. Again, that is the value of fostering relationships.”

In 2023, Canadian farmers harvested almost 30 million tonnes of wheat, with excellent quality across all wheat classes, despite a challenging growing season. The majority of the 2023 crop graded No. 2 or better and had average to higher-than-average protein content.

Cereals Canada vice president of technical services Elaine Sopiwnyk said they consistently heard from customers that they are happy with Canadian wheat.

“Customers said CWRS is the ‘gold standard’ for wheat and an ‘anchor’ in their wheat blends, improving the quality of their flours. One customer even called CWAD ‘the Ferrari’ of durum wheats,” Sopiwnyk said.

In addition to receiving feedback about the quality and functionality of the current year’s crop, the delegates fielded questions about wheat production and sustainability.

Dean Hubbard, an Alberta grower and board member with Alberta Grains, who participated in the Algeria, Italy, Morrocco and UK trade and technical mission, said the customers he spoke to seemed to have a genuine interest in how wheat is farmed in Canada.

“Canadian farms are so different from farms in other parts of the world, so I wasn’t sure what type of questions I would get,” Hubbard said. “In Algeria, a customer was curious about how much organic content I can lock into my soils. I was surprised about the question, but I have been recording my soil samples every year since 1996 and I was able to provide him with the information that he needed.”

Hubbard said what really stood out to him was how much the countries they visited value and rely on the quality of the grain from Canada, and the importance of maintaining relationships between Cereals Canada and our customers.

The crop summary is available here.

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alice.mcfarlane@pattisonmedia.com

On X: @farmnewsNOW