Fresh off a trade mission to Europe, agriculture minister Gerry Ritz says his successful drive to end the CWB single desk significantly boosted wheat sales to Great Britain.
During an Oct. 8 visit to Warburton’s Ltd., Britain’s largest miller, Ritz said company officials said they were excited by their new ability to contract directly with Saskatchewan wheat producers.
This year, the company has contracted with Saskatchewan farmers for a new variety of wheat, Ritz said in an Oct. 9 callback news conference from London.
Warburton’s was a longtime customer of the CWB to access Canadian wheat.
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“That great relationship (with the Canadian grain industry) has continued through the first year of marketing freedom, and Warburton’s say that while initially there were challenges, they would not go back to the old system,” said Ritz.
“In fact, Canadian wheat sales to the U.K. (United Kingdom) are up by 50 percent for the first years of the open market.”
He said the challenges that Warburton’s faced in the year after the single desk was abolished were related to learning a new way to access Canadian grain without necessarily calling CWB.
“There were some challenges to begin with because they’d gotten used to the old way of doing things, but now that they have a year under their belt, they’re really excited by the potential, being able to contract acres such as they’ve done to make sure they get what they want,” Ritz said.
“They’re saying that the quality and consistency is still there.”
He said the company is now considering buying CPS wheat for its blend “as opposed to always being forced to buy No. 1 red, high protein, which they didn’t always need.”
