Newsroom
2001
June 29, 2001
Canadian Wheat Board fights back with facts
Winnipeg
The Canadian Wheat Board (CWB) yesterday sent a formal submission
to the United States International Trade Commission (ITC). The
submission responds to inaccurate allegations about Canadian grain
marketing contained in a recent trade challenge initiated by the
North Dakota Wheat Commission (NDWC).
"The NDWC is not a marketer and does not make commercial sales
therefore it stands to reason they don't fully understand the
international wheat market," said CWB President and CEO Greg
Arason. "But we are not going to allow their simplistic and
anecdotal rhetoric to be passed off as fact."
The current trade challenge from the NDWC is the ninth challenge
American groups have launched against the CWB since 1990. In all
eight previous challenges the CWB was found to be a fair
trader.
"The fact that the CWB has generated such concern among the
Americans reflects our success in the global market, where we
compete fiercely, but fairly," Arason said. "The CWB has marketed a
superior quality, consistent, and uniform product while providing
technical support and good customer service."
As well as factual marketing information, the CWB's submission
includes an independent report by two American economists. The
economists dismiss the trade challenge filed by the NDWC as an
overly simplistic "cause-and-effect" view.
ITC staff have accepted an invitation to visit CWB's Winnipeg
headquarters in July. The CWB welcomes this opportunity to further
explain its role in the global marketplace.
Controlled by Western Canadian farmers, the CWB is the largest
marketer of wheat and barley in the world. As one of Canada's
biggest exporters, it sells grain to more than 70 countries and
returns all sales revenue, less marketing costs, to Prairie
farmers.