The Port of Churchill has loaded its last shipment of outgoing Canadian wheat for the year.
The MV Champion Bay was loaded Oct. 31 and will carry 26,000 tonnes of spring wheat to West Africa.
The Canadian Wheat Board shipped 507,000 tonnes of spring wheat and durum through the northern Manitoba port in 2011.
That was down significantly from 600,000 tonnes of board grains shipped through Churchill in 2010 but still well above the 10-year average of 452,000 tonnes.
The port loaded 16 vessels with Canadian wheat and durum in a season that began Aug. 3. The grain was bound for Europe, Africa and Latin America.
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Churchill, Canada’s only Arctic port, is located on Hudson Bay 1,000 kilometres north of Winnipeg.
The port’s northerly location gives it a limited shipping season, usually three to four months in duration.
The ice-free period usually runs from late July to early November.
Grain shipped through the port is typically drawn from a catchment area that includes northeastern Saskatchewan and northern Manitoba.
Shipping through the port is seen as a cost effective alternative to shipping through Thunder Bay, Ont., Vancouver or Prince Rupert, B.C.
Wheat board spokesperson John Lyons said CWB grain constitutes an important component of the port’s overall business.
“The CWB on average ships 90 to 95 percent of the grain that moves through Churchill,” he said.
The future of the port has been a hotly debated issue in recent months.
Board supporters say grain shipments through the port will drop significantly and port business will suffer if Parliament approves proposed legislative changes to the CWB’s mandate.
Board chair Allen Oberg said the future of the northern port is bleak if the government carries through on plans to eliminate single desk marketing.
“The CWB uses Churchill to save farmers money on transportation costs,” he said.
“However, the economic equation changes if the CWB winds down and grain companies start exporting prairie wheat.… Their business models are … more focused on maximizing grain flow through their own port facilities. It is difficult to imagine why they’d choose to use Churchill.”
OmniTrax managing director Mike Ogborn said the elimination of single desk grain marketing will present challenges but nothing that can’t be overcome through discussions.
The U.S.-based company owns the Port of Churchill and the Hudson Bay Railway Company that runs from the Pas, Man., to Churchill.
Ogborn said earlier this year that his company is preparing for what it considers an inevitable end to single desk marketing in Western Canada.
Although many of Canada’s largest grain companies have their own port facilities, OmniTrax officials hope to attract new grain handling clients by presenting a sound business case for using the Churchill route.
“For those companies that have (their own port) facilities, it will require having a business-like dis- cussion and convincing them that moving a portion of their grain through the Port of Churchill is viable for them and is a good business decision,” Ogborn said.
“And there are certainly other grain companies that don’t have those kinds of facilities that would also be potentially good partners for us. We’re exploring all of those avenues with all grain companies.”
Bill C-18, the legislation that would end single desk grain marketing, contains provisions aimed at addressing the potentially negative impact on Port of Churchill business:
• Provide an economic incentive of up to $5 million per year for five years to support ongoing shipments of grain, oilseeds and pulses through Churchill.
• Provide $4.1 million over three years through Transport Canada to maintain port facilities during the transition from single desk marketing to an open market system.
• Work with the Churchill Gateway Development Corp through Western Economic Diversification Canada to complete infrastructure improvements between now and 2015.
• Consult with all stakeholders and explore steps that will enhance the future viability of the port and the community of Churchill.
