The group of Japanese flour millers that visited Western Canada in the first week of October spoke little English.
But they knew and spoke two English phrases very well: “No. 1” and “GMO.”
They were happy to find lots of the former and none of the latter.
“Stability of quality is very key,” said Hajime Kubota, director of the Wheat Flour Institute of the Japanese Millers Association, in an interview assisted by a translator.
“The millers’ customers demand consistent high quality.”
Three small crops in a row of Canada hard red spring wheat had caused problems for the Japanese milling industry, which relies on Canadian wheat for many products. Kubota and six colleagues visited Canada to get a sense of the size and quality of the 2005-06 crop, hoping it would be better than the drought-reduced crops of 2002 and 2003 and the frosted crop of 2004.
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Canadian Wheat Board Tokyo representative David Iwaasa said the board is trying to reassure Japanese buyers, who pay top prices, that they will be able to get enough spring wheat this coming year.
“They’re hoping our quality is better (than last year) and that we have more on offer,” said Iwaasa.
“Our customers in Japan are our premium quality customers and we offer them our best product. These years have been difficult ones and we hope we’re coming back.”
Kubota said Japanese millers had to cut back their use of red spring wheat over the past three years because of the small crops. Millers tended to save the Canadian wheat they got for products that were most sensitive to quality. For other products they increased the amount of American dark northern spring wheat in the blend.
The Japanese millers toured the wheat board and the Canadian International Grains Institute in Winnipeg before travelling to Regina and Swift Current, Sask., where they visited a farm, two grain elevators and a research centre.
Nowhere in their travels did they see genetically modified wheat, which pleased them.
“The Japanese consumer is extremely sensitive to the issue of food safety and Japanese consumers have made it clear that they are not willing to accept GM wheat flours,” said Yasuo Ito of Nisshin Flour Milling Inc. through a translator.
“As long as the Japanese consumers are of the view that they do not want to receive GM flour, the Japanese flour millers association will not purchase or import GM wheat.”
When asked whether Japanese millers were relieved that neither the United States nor Canada had approved GM wheat, both Ito and Kubota laughed and affirmed vigorously.
“The big challenge is that there needs to be some merit (in GM wheat flour) for the consumer, and there really isn’t at this stage,” said Ito.
