MOOSE JAW, Sask. – Information is power, and that’s why Greg Cherewyk wants pulse growers and processors to hand over their data.
The transportation director for Pulse Canada is collecting information as part of the two-year transportation strategy the organization initiated last summer.
Tired of the ongoing problems obtaining rail cars and containers, Pulse Canada is building a case for better service. The industry’s goal is to be a world leader in consistent and reliable supply.
Cherewyk used a football analogy to describe the industry’s position.
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“The 10-yard line is not a good place to be but we’re on the offence,” he told processors at a recent conference in Moose Jaw.
All the positives of the pulse industry are wiped out if the product can’t be delivered.
He said anecdotal data about the costs of labour disruptions, poor rail service or lack of containers isn’t good enough. He needs legitimately quantified costs of every labour dispute, for example.
Information specific to companies and the industry provides leverage in negotiations and restores some balance of power, he said.
“Information is everything.”
Murad Al-Katib, president of the Canadian Special Crops Association, also drew on football to describe the industry’s efforts to fight back.
“We’re in the game now,” he said.
He said decision makers can’t act on complaints if they don’t have all the information and it’s up to the industry to provide it.
Cherewyk said perception is part of the problem. Some policy makers look at four pulse crops and think they’re going to move them the same way they move grains and oilseeds.
These people are often surprised to learn that there are 10 different types of beans, each with a distinct market, five types of peas, six kinds of lentils and two different chickpeas grown in Canada.
“Are we really going to fit the model of grains and oilseeds?” he said.
He also pointed out that Canada is the dominant supplier to markets such as Asia and South America. Exports to Mexico are poised to grow with the removal of trade barriers.
Cherewyk said the high number of points of origin, lack of buyer concentration and heavy reliance on containers also set the pulse industry apart.
The transportation strategy must be linked to a communications plan, he added. Five public relations firms in Ottawa are being considered to help the industry get its message out.
The federal agriculture department is contributing $600,000 over the next 18 months to the transportation strategy.
Al-Katib urged processors at the Western Canadian Marketers and Processors Association meeting to sign up and help out.
He said shipping one hopper car more in a year would pay for their membership.
“Otherwise, don’t complain,” he said.
