Terrorist attacks in New York and Washington may have hit exporters of prairie farm commodities in the heart, but not in the pocketbook.
Cross-border shipments of grain, oilseeds and livestock were disrupted for a couple of days following the Sept. 11 attack, but the border remained open and things soon returned to normal.
“For hog producers in Manitoba, there was no significant impact,” said Dwayne Marling, spokesperson for Manitoba Pork.
He said the agency has received assurances from United States border patrol officials that while there may be some short delays, cross-border commerce shouldn’t be affected.
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“We’re telling farmers not to worry, it’s business as usual,” said Marling.
Cam Daniels, vice-president of the Canada Beef Export Federation, said that in the first couple of days after the attacks, beef trucks heading south encountered long lineups and waits of several hours.
Some shipments were rerouted and some U.S. packers postponed deliveries of cattle for a few days.
“There have plenty of hassles, but nothing to prevent the business from continuing,” he said.
Anne Dunford, market analyst with Canfax, said the border delays had no discernible effect on cattle prices.
“At this point, right from feeder cattle and calves on through, I don’t think it can be suggested there’s been any negative response on prices,” she said.
Grain industry officials painted a similar picture for their industry, saying that following some initial confusion and delay, border traffic quickly returned to normal.
Saskatchewan Wheat Pool chief executive officer Mayo Schmidt said some of its trucks were “put on hold” on the morning of Sept. 11, but were moving by that afternoon.
He added he doesn’t expect any of the new security measures being talked about in the wake of the terrorist attacks will affect grain shipments.
“We certainly don’t expect further disruptions,” he said. “We know our customers and trading partners in the U.S. are up and running and there has been minimal disruption to food products.”
Canadian Wheat Board spokesperson Rheal Cenerini said there was no significant impact on rail shipments of CWB grain to the U.S.
A small percentage of CWB shipments go into the New York area, and rail traffic in that region was slow and congested. However, prairie border crossings were operating normally.
That wasn’t true across the country. Ontario truckers encountered 25 kilometre lineups and waits of 10 to 15 hours.
Keith Robbins, director of communications for Ontario Pork, said police and emergency measures officials helped ensure that perishable products and live animals were given priority in crossing the border, and no animals or loads were lost.
“We’re letting our producers know there will be disruptions in services,” he said. Farmers are being asked to delay shipping animals if at all possible and the selling agency is looking for alternative markets.
