Canada Seen Importing 500,000 Tons Of Wheat From Black Sea Region
WINNIPEG, MB, Sep 06, 2002 (Resource News International via COMTEX) -- Drought devastated wheat production in Western Canada is expected to result in the increased importation of feed quality wheat from the Black Sea region during the 2002/03 crop year which began Aug. 1.
Canada has been importing feed wheat from overseas outlets for quite some time, but not to the magnitude anticipated this year, a export source commented. "While it's hard to put an exact number on it, there are ideas that imports of feed wheat to Canada could hit 500,000 metric tons in 2002/03," he said.
Most of the feed wheat is expected to be brought in from the Black Sea region, where both Russia and the Ukraine are said to have exportable surpluses.
The feed wheat shipments are expected to remain mainly in Eastern Canada although there have been some hints that some could make its way into the eastern regions of Western Canada, the exporter said.
Statistics from the market analysis branch of Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada are predicting that all wheat imports into Canada during 2002/03 will hit 110,000 tons. In 2001/02 Canadian imports were 97,000 tons and in 2000/01 60,000. No breakdown was available on how much of the wheat imported graded as feed.
The exporter noted the feed wheat generally is off-loaded at grain export terminals located in Eastern Canada (Quebec) and then shipped by Lakers to its final destinations.
A floor trader at the Winnipeg Commodity Exchange agreed that Canada will need to import more feed wheat then it has in previous years because of the production deficit situation. He too was working with a 500,000 ton estimate.
"The cost of moving feed wheat from Western Canada to Eastern Canadian destinations can be an expensive proposition," he indicated. "Add in the supply shortage and the cost becomes even more prohibitive. As a result, eastern Canadian outlets can import feed wheat from offshore at a cheaper rate."
Charlie Pearson, a grains and oilseed analyst with Alberta Agriculture said there is no doubt that there is import business on the books. However, exactly how much feed wheat will be imported, is another thing.
He indicated the world supply/demand balance sheet on the wheat front is changing fairly significantly every day. "Right now, North America is an attractive place for countries that have wheat to sell."
However, Pearson also said that with the global situation as it is, there may be a lot of other customers who may want this feed wheat more than Canada or even the US does.
"If that occurs, this commodity could become fairly expensive very quickly and will likely change the decision making of Russian and Ukrainian feed wheat suppliers, who will then sell to the highest bidder, including outlets in the Middle East and even North Africa," he noted.
The export source noted the Russian feed wheat is of higher quality than the Ukraine, and some of the imports to Canada could possibly make their way to the mills.
http://news.tradingcharts.com/futures/8/3/30575638.html
WINNIPEG, MB, Sep 06, 2002 (Resource News International via COMTEX) -- Drought devastated wheat production in Western Canada is expected to result in the increased importation of feed quality wheat from the Black Sea region during the 2002/03 crop year which began Aug. 1.
Canada has been importing feed wheat from overseas outlets for quite some time, but not to the magnitude anticipated this year, a export source commented. "While it's hard to put an exact number on it, there are ideas that imports of feed wheat to Canada could hit 500,000 metric tons in 2002/03," he said.
Most of the feed wheat is expected to be brought in from the Black Sea region, where both Russia and the Ukraine are said to have exportable surpluses.
The feed wheat shipments are expected to remain mainly in Eastern Canada although there have been some hints that some could make its way into the eastern regions of Western Canada, the exporter said.
Statistics from the market analysis branch of Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada are predicting that all wheat imports into Canada during 2002/03 will hit 110,000 tons. In 2001/02 Canadian imports were 97,000 tons and in 2000/01 60,000. No breakdown was available on how much of the wheat imported graded as feed.
The exporter noted the feed wheat generally is off-loaded at grain export terminals located in Eastern Canada (Quebec) and then shipped by Lakers to its final destinations.
A floor trader at the Winnipeg Commodity Exchange agreed that Canada will need to import more feed wheat then it has in previous years because of the production deficit situation. He too was working with a 500,000 ton estimate.
"The cost of moving feed wheat from Western Canada to Eastern Canadian destinations can be an expensive proposition," he indicated. "Add in the supply shortage and the cost becomes even more prohibitive. As a result, eastern Canadian outlets can import feed wheat from offshore at a cheaper rate."
Charlie Pearson, a grains and oilseed analyst with Alberta Agriculture said there is no doubt that there is import business on the books. However, exactly how much feed wheat will be imported, is another thing.
He indicated the world supply/demand balance sheet on the wheat front is changing fairly significantly every day. "Right now, North America is an attractive place for countries that have wheat to sell."
However, Pearson also said that with the global situation as it is, there may be a lot of other customers who may want this feed wheat more than Canada or even the US does.
"If that occurs, this commodity could become fairly expensive very quickly and will likely change the decision making of Russian and Ukrainian feed wheat suppliers, who will then sell to the highest bidder, including outlets in the Middle East and even North Africa," he noted.
The export source noted the Russian feed wheat is of higher quality than the Ukraine, and some of the imports to Canada could possibly make their way to the mills.
http://news.tradingcharts.com/futures/8/3/30575638.html
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