Newsroom
2000
August 2, 2000
CWB shares information at 1999-2000 crop year-end news conference
Winnipeg - The CWB today held its annual crop year-end news
conference. President and CEO, Greg Arason, and Chair, Ken Ritter,
reviewed the 1999-00 crop year.
"We met or exceeded all of the marketing and transportation goals
we set for 1999-00," said Arason. "Unfortunately large
international supplies continued to weigh on prices throughout the
crop year."
Arason noted the CWB exported about 19 million tonnes of grain in
1999-00, up more than 25 per cent from 15.1 million tonnes exported
in 1998-99. The CWB posted a third straight year of despatch
earnings for good vessel loading performance. As a result, farmers
will receive an additional $6 million in revenue. During the past
three years the CWB has earned more than $17 million in despatch
earnings.
In 1999-00, like the year before, high grade/high protein wheat and
durum were shipped evenly throughout the crop year to meet ongoing
demand from customers willing to pay for Canada's premium quality.
The mid-quality grades, on the other hand, were moved earlier in
the crop year in anticipation of competition from other suppliers
later in the year. Designated barley (barley for food uses) was
marketed later than usual to take advantage of quality concerns in
the United States. Feed barley exports in 1999-00 are expected to
be about 600 000 tonnes.
Iran, purchasing more than 3.4 million tonnes, was the largest
volume buyer of Canadian non-durum wheat in 1999-00. It was not
among the top five importers the previous year. The Canadian
domestic industry, purchasing more than 2.1 million tonnes,
continued to be a major user of prairie-grown wheat. The domestic
industry, processing more than one million tonnes, was a top buyer
of designated barley. Algeria retained its spot as the highest
volume customer for durum wheat. Exports of feed barley increased
substantially in 1999-00, with the top customer, Japan, taking
almost three times as much as the previous year.
Price outlooks for milling wheat, feed barley and two-row
designated barley in 2000-01 are slightly above values for 1999-00
due to an anticipated tightening of stocks . Durum and six-row
malting barley values are expected to remain soft in the upcoming
year as a result of an expected build up in stocks in the major
exporting regions and the increasing presence of new exporters.
Arason observed that while the European Union appears to be
reducing its export subsidies, he hopes the upcoming WTO talks will
focus on reductions to all EU and US subsidies.
"If the export subsidies are replaced by higher domestic support
payments, farmers in the US and EU will continue to overproduce,"
said Arason. "And farmers in other regions, including Canada, will
continue to be affected by the resulting low prices."
In his address, Ritter said the CWB has undertaken some significant
initiatives to be more responsive to farmers and improve their
returns.
"The extensive work we've done in partnership with other farm
groups on transportation reform has paid off," he said. "The new
transportation agreement should provide a more competitive, lower
cost system for farmers, as well as better service to our customers
around the world."
Ritter went on to highlight several other initiatives that have
been successfully implemented during the past crop year. These
included the 41 director accountability meetings held with farmers
across the Prairies this past spring, the Auditor General of
Canada's review of CWB operations and the new pricing and payment
options introduced to give farmers more choice in how they price
their CWB grain.
"The pricing options have been well received by farmers who want
more flexibility to manage cash flow," said Ritter. "We've said all
along, these options are just the beginning. In the current crop
year, we plan to expand the fixed price program to include daily
prices and possibly extend it to more classes."
Media that were unable to take part in the conference can access
the proceedings by calling (416) 626-4100 after 5 p.m. Wednesday
(reservation #15932358). The taping includes the question and
answer session and will run until Friday at 11 p.m. (Winnipeg
time).
The CWB is one of the world's largest wheat and barley marketers.
Headquartered in Winnipeg, Manitoba, it is Canada's fifth largest
exporter and largest net earner of foreign currency. Marketing
prairie-grown wheat and barley to over 70 countries around the
world, the CWB returns all sales revenues, less the costs of
marketing, to farmers in Western Canada.
| CWB's largest volume customer countries, by pool account 1 | |||
| 1999-00* | 1998-99 | ||
| WHEAT (ex. durum) | |||
| Country | Quantity | Country | Quantity |
| 000 T | 000 T | ||
| Iran | 3,307 | Canada | 2,233 |
| Canada | 2,154 | Japan | 1,311 |
| Japan | 1,225 | U.S.A. | 1,191 |
| U.S. | 1,054 | Indonesia | 719 |
| Mexico | 798 | Mexico | 641 |
| DURUM | |||
| Country | Quantity | Country | Quantity |
| 000 T | 000 T | ||
| Algeria | 1,479 | Algeria | 1,479 |
| Morocco | 472 | U.S. | 658 |
| Venezuela | 360 | Morocco | 338 |
| U.S. | 292 | Canada | 295 |
| Canada | 298 | Italy | 273 |
| FEED BARLEY | |||
| Country | Quantity | Country | Quantity |
| 000 T | 000 T | ||
| Japan | 342 | Japan | 123 |
| Saudi Arabia | 160 | U.S. | 9 |
| U.S | 38 | ||
| U.A.E. | 35 | ||
| Korea, Rep of | 21 | ||
| DESIGNATED BARLEY | |||
| Country | Quantity | Country | Quantity |
| 000 T | 000 T | ||
| Canada | 1,150 | Canada | 989 |
| U.S. | 558 | U.S. | 555 |
| China | 428 | China | 291 |
| Mexico | 99 | Mexico | 62 |
| Japan | 40 | Japan | 60 |
*preliminary
1/Excludes products
Sources:
CGC: Canadian Grain Exports, 1998-99
CWB: 1999-2000 Sales Programs
| Total exports of western Canadian
grain by port area, 1999-00, and 1998-99 crop years* |
||||||||
| (000 tonnes) | ||||||||
| Wheat | Durum | Barley | Oats | Rye | Flax | Canola | Total | |
| Vancouver | ||||||||
| 1999-00 | 6 480.8 | 896.0 | 932.5 | 25.8 | 1.3 | 64.1 | 3 341.8 | 11 742.3 |
| 1998-99 | 5 578.6 | 1 104.5 | 474.7 | 47.6 | 1.6 | 102.1 | 3 298.2 | 10 607.3 |
| Prince Rupert | ||||||||
| 1999-00 | 3 247.7 | 3.0 | 109.5 | 1.1 | - | - | 4.0 | 3 365.3 |
| 1998-99 | 1 247.5 | 6.3 | - | - | - | 1.1 | - | 1 254.9 |
| Churchill | ||||||||
| 1999-00 | 275.3 | 87.5 | - | - | - | - | - | 362.8 |
| 1998-99 | 330.6 | 8.8 | - | - | - | - | - | 339.4 |
| Thunder Bay | ||||||||
| 1999-00 | 828.3 | 389.8 | 238.4 | 202.9 | - | 327.6 | 171.4 | 2 158.4 |
| 1998-99 | 682.4 | 257.5 | 255.8 | 163.8 | - | 445.9 | 293.4 | 2 098.8 |
| St. Lawrence Ports | ||||||||
| 1999-00 | 1 565.1 | 1 810.1 | 0.1 | 2.1 | - | 14.5 | - | 3 391.9 |
| 1998-99 | 1 302.8 | 1 772.8 | - | 3.1 | - | 11.9 | 37.5 | 3 128.1 |
| Atlantic Seaboard | ||||||||
| 1999-00 | 31.1 | - | - | - | - | - | - | 31.1 |
| 1998-99 | 80.3 | - | - | - | - | - | - | 80.3 |
| Shipments from Interior | ||||||||
| 1999-00 | 1 127.4 | 295.8 | 399.4 | 794.2 | 36.5 | 103.5 | 277.9 | 3 034.7 |
| 1998-99 | 1 140.2 | 667.6 | 370.3 | 821.6 | 43.6 | 116.8 | 248.9 | 3 409.0 |
| Total Exports | ||||||||
| 1999-00 | 13 555.7 | 3 482.2 | 1 679.9 | 1 026.1 | 37.8 | 509.7 | 3 795.1 | 24 086.5 |
| 1998-99 | 10 362.4 | 3 817.5 | 1 100.7 | 1 036.1 | 45.2 | 677.8 | 3 877.9 | 20 917.7 |
1/Preliminary. Exports for 1999-00 are as of July 23, 2000
*Source: Canadian Grain Commission
| CWB Payments: 1995-1996 - 2000-01 | |||||
| (In store St. Lawrence or Vancouver, dollars per tonne) | |||||
| No. 1 Canada Western Red Spring (12.5) | |||||
| Final | |||||
| Pool | Initial | Adjustment | Interim | Final | Realized |
| Account | Payment | Payment | Payment | Payment | Return |
| 2000-01 | 140.00 | - | - | - | - |
| 1999-00 | 134.00 | 38.00 | - | - | - |
| 1998-99 | 140.00 | 39.00 | 9.00 | 10.85 | 198.85 |
| 1997-98 | 138.00 | 42.00 | 8.00 | 13.73 | 201.73 |
| 1996-97 | 194.00 | 10.00 | - | 12.54 | 216.54 |
| 1995-96 | 166.00 | 86.00 | - | 11.60 | 263.60 |
| No. 1 Canada Western Amber Durum (12.5) | |||||
| Final | |||||
| Pool | Initial | Adjustment | Interim | Final | Realized |
| Account | Payment | Payment | Payment | Payment | Return |
| 2000-01 | 143.00 | - | - | - | - |
| 1999-00 | 135.00 | 50.00 | - | - | - |
| 1998-99 | 140.00 | 42.00 | 8.00 | 15.03 | 205.03 |
| 1997-98 | 183.00 | 81.00 | 6.00 | 13.28 | 283.28 |
| 1996-97 | 172.00 | 55.00 | - | 32.76 | 259.76 |
| 1995-96 | 165.00 | 106.00 | 18.00 | 18.69 | 311.69 |
| No. 1 Canada Western Barley | |||||
| Final | |||||
| Pool | Initial | Adjustment | Interim | Final | Realized |
| Account | Payment | Payment | Payment | Payment | Return |
| 2000-01 | 95.00 | - | - | - | - |
| 1999-00 | 85.00 | 38.00 | - | - | - |
| 1998-99 | 85.00 | 45.00 | 7.00 | 10.50 | 147.50 |
| 1997-98 | 95.00 | 16.00 | - | 10.02 | 121.02 |
| 1996-97 | 137.00 | 8.00 | - | 5.97 | 150.97 |
| 1995-96 | 115.00 | 82.00 | - | 8.49 | 205.49 |
| Special Select Canada Western Two-Row Barley | |||||
| Final | |||||
| Pool | Initial | Adjustment | Interim | Final | Realized |
| Account | Payment | Payment | Payment | Payment | Return |
| 2000-01 | 142.00 | - | - | - | - |
| 1999-00 | 130.00 | 49.00 | - | - | - |
| 1998-99 | 138.00 | 20.00 | 7.00 | 7.36 | 172.36 |
| 1997-98 | 149.00 | 34.00 | 4.00 | 9.32 | 196.32 |
| 1996-97 | 180.00 | 45.00 | - | 3.82 | 228.82 |
| 1995-96 | 145.00 | 92.00 | - | 11.99 | 248.99 |