KISSIMMEE, Fla. — U.S. wheat growers are pleased with how things have unfolded during the first crop year without the CWB monopoly.
“So far it has gone very well,” said Alan Tracy, president of U.S. Wheat Associates (USW).
Last year the group suggested there might be “unattractive border incidents” if trucks filled with Canadian wheat caused long line-ups at U.S. elevators while American wheat was prevented from flowing north.
But that hasn’t transpired.
“We haven’t had significant problems at any of the U.S. elevators that we know about,” Tracy said in an interview at the 2013 Commodity Classic.
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“I don’t think there has been any surge moving south.”
There is still the usual business between Canadian elevator companies and U.S. millers, which has made the United States Canada’s largest wheat customer, but nothing out of the ordinary.
Tracy said “not insignificant quantities” of wheat have been moved by train from U.S. elevators to Thunder Bay, Ont., for transshipment to overseas markets.
However, U.S. farmers have delivered little wheat to Canadian elevators because of Canada’s restrictive variety registration system, which treats all U.S. wheat as general purpose wheat. That is a bone of contention south of the border.
“We still have some concerns that we don’t think have been fully addressed on the Canadian side,” said Tracy.
USW was one of the most vocal critics of the CWB monopoly. It felt CWB used its pooling powers to overcharge Japanese and U.S. buyers and undercut U.S. exporters.
Tracy said Canadian wheat is still cheaper in some markets, but that’s a function of Canadian growers being more willing sellers than their U.S. counterparts when prices soften.
Growers in the northern tier states have a long history of holding out for higher prices. They are able to do so because of their strong financial position and their plethora of storage bins.
“If your guys are more willing to sell, so be it,” said Tracy. “That will change. In the long run there’s no reason why the attitude on holding and the financial strength shouldn’t be pretty much the same on both sides of the border.”
He said he believes Canadian growers have also been caught up in the excitement of selling their wheat under an open market for the first time in decades.
“And prices have been good, especially relative to what they used to get out of the board,” he added.
Tracy said the improved Canadian prices are probably discouraging movement of Canadian wheat to the U.S.
USW is “very happy” that the CWB monopoly is gone, he added.
“That good feeling over that has overcome a lot of the concern that we’ve had on these other issues.”
He said the two countries can start co-operating on some projects, such as Canadian wheat groups taking advantage of the work being done by the Wheat Foods Council.
The council focuses on nutrition issues, preparing public service announcements and educational material for schoolchildren and speaking out against the Wheat Belly book and the trend toward gluten-free diets.
“I don’t see any reason why their work couldn’t be expanded to include Canada very easily.”
