CARSELAND, Alta. — The managing director of South Korea’s largest wheat miller says Canadian grain
isn’t meeting his needs.
Y.S. Kim of Daehan Flour Mills Co. told a Canadian Wheat Board meeting in Carseland on Jan. 31 that Canadian grain has too much bacteria and moisture, and not enough qualities that make noodles chewy. Worse, the grain is not delivered on time.
He said 65 percent of South Korea’s wheat imports are soft white wheat to make noodles. Bread flour is 15 percent.
However, of the 2.5 million tonnes of wheat imported annually by South Korea, only 140,000 tonnes comes from Canada.
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“Canadian wheat is not good for making noodles,” Kim said.
“We have seen some potential in your AC Crystal and AC Vista varieties, but they still are not an easy sell to our millers.”
Suitable moisture level
Australian Standard White wheat is the most popular among noodle makers. Its protein levels are less than 10 percent and it arrives dry at 11 percent moisture or less. American soft white wheat is also popular. Both provide texture profiles that meet South Korean consumer tastes.
Darrell Bushuk, the Canadian Wheat Board’s Asia Pacific marketing manager, agreed.
“The Australian wheat produces a whiter brighter product. That makes it more attractive to consumers in the region.”
Bushuk said the noodle market is a challenge for Canadian grain.
So is its 280,000 tonne bread flour market, of which Canada only has a 40 percent share.
South Korean buyers prefer American Dark Northern Spring bread wheat over Canadian wheat because of lower moisture and coliform levels.
However, Bushuk said Canada is gaining ground in that market.
Kim praised the wheat board for its technical support. He said customer support is important if Canada wants to improve sales in South Korea and other Southeast Asian markets.
“Technical support is very important. Our millers and bakers need to know how to use Canadian wheat and flour, but we need your product to be competitive.”
Since a Canadian trade mission in 1997, Canada Western Spring wheat has been successfully replacing American Hard Red Winter and DNS wheat as a bread wheat. A small but growing South Korean market for frozen dough products brings potential demand for Canada Western Extra Strong.
Kim said the wheat board has been working with South Korean bakers and millers on research into the use of newer varieties of Canada Prairie Spring wheat for making noodles, including AC Crystal, AC Vista and AC Karma, but added it is difficult to displace Australian wheat.
He said there other problems as well.
While Canadian dockage is lower than in American shipments, the “American dockage is deducted from the invoice,” and buyers don’t have to pay for it.
Transportation is also hurting Canadian sales, Kim said.
“We ordered 160, 000 tonnes (of wheat from Canada). Because of problems with delivery at port we only took 140, 000 tonnes last year.”
