Canada won’t tell railways where to ship grain for now

[grassfarmer]

Was talking with the NFU president the other night and he is angry with the situation. He specifically asked MPs in Ottawa who would be able to put pressure on the railways to make timely deliveries and coordinate movement to coast of the appropriate types as it was needed. He was assured there would be no problems - the free market would take care of it post CWB.

He also showed a graph showing how the RR's take of grain prices has more than doubled but that is nothing to what the grain Co's increase has been. So chasing the RR's and hunger strikes against them is largely pursuing the wrong target.

[furrowtickler]

He should tell the rr's to put up a graph of grain prices over the past three years.

[TOM4CWB]

grassy,

While I can find facts to back up the CNCP take on the grain freight in western Canada... I have not seen where you get the statistics to back up your grainco profit numbers. In dealing with basis levels for fall 2015... on Canola we are getting bids better than ever before for off the combine sales.

I can't reconcile this accusation. We ARE working on a better CWB to provide an alternative for arbitrage... which I am told will be put in place BEFORE the next federal election this fall.

[wmoebis]

Sounds good Tom, but Like it was said many many many times before, shouldn't that have been done with some forethought before changes were made.

[TOM4CWB]

BTW Grassy,

I see this on AGT:

You expect me to seriously take your comments as reality... when our major grain buyer went from a loss of $10M last year... to a profit of $20M on $1.35B in sales! These people are not making any reasonable profit... for the risks involved a reasonable person would conclude.

How any comparison with CP Rail 59 percent cost 41 percent RR running profit for 2014 (Vs 2012 75 cost 25 profit)... and the reported 62 percent return on regulated grain shipments in 2013-14 western Canada... simply defies logic.
TOM Jackson HUNGER STRIKE day 26.

"AGT Foods & Ingredients, previously Alliance Grain Traders, posted a 19% increase in revenue for the year ended December 31 to $1.357 billion and net earnings of $19.76 million vs a year-ago loss of $9.72 million. Cost of goods sold dropped to 90.3% of sales from 91.5 in 2013 and gross profit increased 36%. Earnings for the fourth quarter jumped 118% to $14.9 million from $6.8 on a 6% increase in quarterly revenue to $398 million. The Cana-Turkish company is in the midst of a diversification from raw pulse and other crop trading to value-added processing including consumer-ready foods." Agriweek report

[westernvicki]

The profit began as gap protection then moved into margin. The only reason to retreat would be competition. The only way to achieve competition is market access liquidity: Rail service, port access, market access.

It is ALL UP TO THE GOVERNMENT.