Newsroom
2002
June 12, 2002
CWB shocked by Standing Committee recommendation
Winnipeg - The CWB's board of directors today expressed shock and dismay at the Standing Committee on Agriculture and Agri-Food's suggestion that the board 'authorize, on a trial basis, a free market for the sale of wheat and barley'. That recommendation was one of 33 recommendations tabled yesterday in the committee's report titled, The Future Role of Government in Agriculture.
"Frankly, we are surprised the committee included this recommendation in its report," said Ken Ritter, Chair of the board. "Of all of the recommendations, none is so far-reaching in its consequences as this one which would strip all marketing power from Prairie farmers and hand it to grain merchants. The gains Prairie farmers have made through marketing their high-quality products to customers around the world would evaporate and the profits would be made by transnational grain corporations."
"The CWB is controlled by farmers now," Ritter added. "Farmers, not the Standing Committee, have the right to determine the CWB's future direction and mandate."
Ritter highlighted several areas of concern with the recommendation. For example, it calls for a free market in wheat and barley 'on a trial basis'. "Everyone knows that once farmers' marketing power is broken, it cannot be put back together, either practically or legally under the terms and conditions of the free trade agreement," he said.
In addition, the report makes reference to grain producers in Ontario and Quebec 'enjoying increasing flexibility' in the marketing of their wheat and barley. "Those producers are also 'enjoying' lower prices, and the Ontario milling industry finds the dual marketing system in Ontario so dysfunctional that it has asked for the complete removal of the marketing powers of the Ontario Wheat Producers' Marketing Board," Ritter explained. "In the meantime, the wheat and barley processing industry in Western Canada is stable and growing and farmers are receiving premium prices from this market.
Finally, Ritter noted the committee's desire to encourage local processing activities. "Growth in value-added processing is driven by increased demand and a market for the product," he said. "It would have been useful for the committee to have recommended that the federal government allocate money to a promotional campaign to increase the consumption of grain-based foods here at home."
The board will discuss the Standing Committee's report at its upcoming June meeting.
Controlled by western Canadian farmers, the CWB is the largest
wheat and barley marketer in the world. As one of Canada's
biggest exporters, the Winnipeg-based organization sells grain to
more than 70 countries and returns all sales revenue, less the
costs of marketing, to Prairie farmers.
For more information, please contact:
Ken Ritter, Chair, CWB Board of Directors
Telephone: 306-463-5943
Cell: 306-463-9287
Louise Waldman
Manager, Media Relations
Telephone: 204-983-3101
Cell: 204-227-0623