The Canadian Grain Commission is seeking the authority to start tracking containerized shipments of grains, oilseeds and pulses.
It is one of the changes outlined in Bill C-48, the Modernization of Canada’s Grain Industry Act.
“There is increasing pressure for transparency in statistics of grain volumes and grain handling in Canada for exports,” chief commissioner Elwin Hermanson told canaryseed growers at Crop Production Week.
The commission currently tracks and publishes bulk exports on a weekly basis, but grain is increasingly moving by container cars.
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Containers carried 16 percent of the grains, oilseeds, pulses and special crops that moved through Port Metro Vancouver in 2013.
“If this new bill is brought into effect, then we would be able to license container stuffing facilities and get the statistics,” said Hermanson.
That is music to the ears of Larry Weber, who has long railed against the lack of transparency in Canada’s grain industry.
“It’s great because the information we get on containers today is three months behind,” said the owner of Weber Commodities.
“We’re in an information age, and getting three-month-old information is no better than Fred Flintstone. Anything that is going to get information back to the farm quicker is beneficial.”
The benefits go beyond increased transparency for farmers and analysts.
“I think it’s a phenomenal idea, especially when you get into food safety,” said Weber.
A Japanese miller would theoretically be able to trace a grain shipment back to a farm in Saskatchewan, which Weber believes should result in price premiums for growers.
Hermanson said it is important to identify bottlenecks in the grain transportation system as well as the end users of Canadian grain.
“All of those things help the industry do a better job,” he said in an interview following his presentation.
The grain industry depends on the weekly statistics that the commission publishes, but those numbers paint only part of the picture. Container exports show up months later in Statistics Canada’s data.
Hermanson said there will still be transparency problems, even if Bill C-48 passes.
“The CGC is not responsible for transparency on marketing and pricing. We’re not in the marketing end of things. But we are on the grain movement, and that’s why it’s important we have some knowledge of what’s being moved by container because it’s significant,” he said.
“While we may never get it 100 percent perfect, we want to get it as close to 100 percent as possible.”
