Farmers are being urged to deliver 100 percent of their Canadian Wheat Board feed barley contracts by May 26.
The board says overseas buyers are anxious to get their hands on the barley.
“All we’re doing is reminding those who have signed up to please deliver before the end of May because customers are waiting for this grain,” said CWB spokesperson Maureen Fitzhenry.
There isn’t a large volume still to be delivered, she said, but time is of the essence.
“We’re executing the sales now, so we don’t want to wait until June or July for delivery.”
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The board has offered a number of guaranteed delivery contracts on feed barley in recent months, a reflection of good sales opportunities at favourable prices, particularly into Saudi Arabia.
Fitzhenry said the contracts all sold out quickly because they were priced significantly above the domestic feed barley market.
The board’s request for deliveries was criticized by the Western Canadian Wheat Growers Association, which wants an end to the board’s monopoly on barley exports.
“Pleading with farmers to deliver their grain doesn’t cut it,” said association president Cherilyn Jolly-Nagel.
In an open market, a grain company would attract deliveries by raising the price to farmers, she said, adding the current situation indicates a lack of effective price signals under a single desk pooling system.
Fitzhenry said that’s not the case.
“We haven’t begged or pleaded, we’ve just announced that we need it,” she said. “We know farmers are busy seeding and have lots of things on their mind, and we thought it would be helpful to remind them.”
She added the contract prices were a clear price signal to farmers to sell their feed barley to the export rather than domestic market.
