New marketing offices | Industry adjusts to provide marketing efforts formerly provided by CWB
Richardson International, Canada’s largest grain company, is expanding its overseas presence by adding two new marketing offices in Europe and Asia.
Farmers are relieved to see companies and organizations filling a giant CWB-shaped hole in Canada’s overseas grain marketing abilities, says the head of Grain Growers of Canada.
That hole was one of the lingering worries about the end of the Canadian Wheat Board monopoly, but it seems to be shrinking.
“They’re getting out there and making contact with buyers, so that’s a big help,” said GGC president Stephen Vandervalk in an interview.
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Winnipeg-based Richardson has opened sales offices in Geneva and Singapore.
The offices are expected to help serve existing customers and build relationships with new buyers in key overseas markets.
“With the open market for wheat and barley and the acquisition of 19 new grain facilities across Western Canada, our volumes have grown significantly over the last year and will continue to grow,” said Brent Watchorn, the company’s executive vice-president of marketing.
“Looking to the future, we want to establish a permanent presence for the Richardson group of companies in key international markets to be closer to our evolving customer base and make the most of opportunities to expand our global reach.”
Richardson already operates a merchandising subsidiary in Hong Kong it established three years ago.
Canada’s grain market presence is further enhanced as the Alberta Wheat Commission handles an increasing number of requests from foreigners and Alberta government officials to meet with, educate and form connections with foreign buyers.
“In the last couple of weeks we’ve taken all kinds of calls,” said commission general manager Doug Cornell.
“Now that the harvest is in, people want to see what’s there.”
When the federal government eliminated the CWB måonopoly, many in the grain industry worried that no one would assume the wheat board’s long-held marketing relationships and its responsibility for overseas promotion of Canadian grain.
But others believed a combination of grain companies, industry groups and governments would fill the void and that appears to be coming true.
“If you look at our sales book, (Richardson has) been selling to probably 50-plus countries on an annual basis for years now, but in a lot of cases it’s been flax and peas and canola and soybeans and the likes …,” said Watchorn.
“But with the changes in the wheat board, that was sort of the first response we needed to get geared up for because we knew we would sell far more wheat and durum and barley into markets that the wheat board (serviced) ….”
The company has also recently hired Erik Ordonez, a former CWB merchandiser, to manage sales in South America.
Vandervalk said the new situation presents opportunities for companies to sell and deliver multiple commodities at the same time to some customers.
“With the wheat board, there wasn’t that much interest in sending a cargo of canola and wheat and peas, but a lot of sales are probably now being done that way,” said Vandervalk.
He thinks system efficiency will increase as companies take advantage of direct relationships with buyers.
“I think they’re moving a lot more grain through the ports just because they now know where it’s going,” said Vandervalk.
Cornell said his newborn agency has already hosted a group of Japanese city councilors from an agricultural products manufacturing area, and is planning to meet with a delegation of Taiwanese millers.
A European Union trade commissioner will also soon be in Alberta and the commission hopes to meet with him.
Such connections of farmer, industry and overseas buyer could become a crucial role for the new provincial wheat commissions, Cornell said.
“As the Saskatchewan and Manitoba commissions get set up, along with the potential for an overarching (national organization representing the commissions), I think the industry from a farmers’ perspective will be organized to do that continually,” said Cornell.
The Alberta commission also plans to piggyback on Canadian International Grains Institute connections and overseas travels with Alberta farmers and industry people in order to keep the Canadian overseas voice strong.
Richardson hired Emmanuel Karrer as its director of marketing for Europe working out of the Geneva office. Boon Guay will work in the Singapore office as Asian marketing director.
Each has at least 20 years of grain merchandising experience.
— With files from Brian Cross, Saskatoon newsroom
