Western Producer staff
The grain industry is undergoing one of the most tumultuous times in its history. A series of unusual events has led to an urgent situation at Canada’s western ports, and grain customers are expressing serious concerns about whether Canada will meet its market obligations.
This has led to cries that every player in the industry needs to work with the other player. Sitting across the harbor from each other in Vancouver, some industry officials admit not knowing what other related industries are doing or how they influence each other.
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The time has come for increased dialogue and co-ordination within the industry. The recent Canada Grains Council meeting revealed some of the problems that exist, but also frustrated people with the complexity of the situation that needs to be addressed in grain transportation.
The 25-year-old council involves such diverse groups as grain and oilseeds commodity associations, the terminals, the Grain Workers Union, Vancouver Port Corporation, shippers, grain companies, railways, and brewer and feed grain associations from across the country.
But as talks revolve around the need to work together, noticeably absent from the table are the prairie pools, who withdrew their membership in the 1970s over the council’s lobbying on farm policy.
Council president Doug Campbell says ” if we undertake many reforms to revitalize the council, if we can build a better membership, maybe we can attract the pools again.” However, he admits, as the council takes sides in policy issues it may find it difficult to attract new members or even hold current members together.
Campbell said Canada’s grain players cannot afford to continue this “debate within their own sandbox.” Global trade is threatened and national policies need to ensure product moves to port.
If the council can’t bring the major players together, there’s an urgency to find some other avenue to unite the grain industry, from farmers to shippers. Neither the export market nor Canada can afford to wait.
