Good prices and good volumes led to a record-setting performance by the Canadian Wheat Board.
The grain marketing agency sold $6.1 billion worth of wheat and barley in the 1996-97 crop year, surpassing the previous high of $5.8 billion set the year before.
“The record sales is due to a combination of higher-than-average prices and increased production on the prairies,” chief commissioner Lorne Hehn said in announcing final payments and total returns from the 1996-97 pool accounts.
But those record sales don’t translate into record net returns to farmers, due to higher operating costs.
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The final prices are in line with the last Estimated Pool Return, issued by the board in September.
“There weren’t any surprises,” said Glenn Lennox, wheat market analyst with Agriculture Canada. “There are a few numbers that are a little higher than the EPR but historically the September EPR is 98 percent accurate.”
A final payment of $8.20 a tonne for No. 1 Canada Western red spring wheat boosted the the total return to $208.20 tonne, compared with the September projection of $205 a tonne.
(All prices are basis in-store at export position. Prices paid to farmers reflect deductions for freight and handling at local delivery points.)
For No. 1 CW durum, the final payment was $24.91 a tonne, producing a total return of $249.91. That compares with the September EPR of $241 a tonne.
And for No. 1 CW feed barley the final payment of $5.97 a tonne resulted in a total payment of $150.97, the same as the EPR.
It was a different story for designated barley, with both two and six row producing total returns that were below the last EPR. For special select two row, the total payment was $228.82 a tonne versus the EPR of $232, while for special select six row the total payment was $195.26 versus the EPR of $199 a tonne.
The wheat pool account produced record sales values of $4.23 billion on 19.8 million tonnes. The average payment for all wheat of $214.15 is the third highest on record.
For durum the average was $247.96 a tonne, also the third highest ever. Feed barley averaged $158.18, the second best ever.
