Viterra sale helps global agribusiness NOT
Farmers - NFU
" What was once an asset owned by farmers is
now an asset to be used in a way against them.
We know that instead of controlling these assets
we will only be paying for them through handling
charges..." - Terry Boehm
(Saskatoon, SK) - “The sale of Viterra to Glencore
International, and its plans to hive off parts of the
company to Richardson International and Agrium
Inc., tilts the economic playing field ever more in
favour of global
agribusiness corporations to the disadvantage of
Canadian farmers,” said Terry Boehm, National
Farmers Union President. “With Bill C-18’s
removal of the Canadian Wheat Board’s single
desk still before the courts, it appears these
companies are making a move to quickly secure
access to a significant portion of the $5 billion
worth of grain sales revenue that has been
controlled by the CWB.”
With Glencore entering Canada’s grain trade and
Richardson expanding its operations, on the
surface it may look as if we have two companies
where we once had one, but I would be very
surprised to see any significant competition that
would result intangible savings for farmers,”
added Boehm. “We have seen dramatic changes
in the grain handling industry in western Canada
in the last fifteen years and each one has brought
increased costs to farmers. When the iconic
prairie wooden elevators were destroyed it was
supposed to generate efficiencies. It certainly did
for companies, but farmers have seen nothing
more than ever-escalating handling charges and
increased transportation distances with a
corresponding increase in costs,” he continued.
The long history of James Richardson and Sons
has been contentious in western Canada. “Many
of the early organizers in the prairie Wheat Pools
were responding to abuses in the grain
system that companies, including Richardson,
routinely visited upon farmers,” noted Ed Sagan,
NFU Saskatchewan Regional Coordinator. “It is a
very sad day for us to see the company that was
build upon the Wheat Pools being turned over to
the very company the Pools were established to
counteract,” he commented.
“Farmers originally built the terminals and the
elevators that Viterra owns and are now up for
grabs by the big commodity trading companies.
What was once an asset owned by farmers is now
an asset to be used in a way against them. We
know that instead of controlling these assets we
will only be paying for them through handling
charges, not earning equity dividends like we
once did,” concluded Boehm.
Agrium is poised to control an even larger share
of the fertilizer market. “We saw Agrium work with
Cargill in Australia to obtain the former Australian
Wheat Board’s farm input business,” noted Doug
Scott, NFU Board member. “Agrium has
operations in the USA, Argentina, Chile, Egypt
and Europe as well. While its head office is in
Calgary, it is a global business. It’s not going to be
giving any special consideration to Canadian
famers.”
“The purchase of Viterra is not new investment,
but simply a shuffling of ownership. Nothing new
is added in terms of assets, and indeed we may
see head offices disappear from Saskatchewan at
the end of the day,” stated Boehm. The NFU
urges the Competition Bureau to review this sale
closely and to consider the impacts upon farmers
and upon Canada as a whole that would result
from the increased foreign ownership of the grain
trade as well as further concentration in Canada
of both the fertilizer and the grain sectors.
- 30 -
For more information:
Terry Boehm, NFU President - 011 33 3 44 04 82
75
Doug Scott, NFU Board Member - (780) 650-1336
or (780) 358-2376
Ed Sagan, NFU Regional Coordinator - (306) 728-
3760 or (306) 728-9050
Farmers - NFU
" What was once an asset owned by farmers is
now an asset to be used in a way against them.
We know that instead of controlling these assets
we will only be paying for them through handling
charges..." - Terry Boehm
(Saskatoon, SK) - “The sale of Viterra to Glencore
International, and its plans to hive off parts of the
company to Richardson International and Agrium
Inc., tilts the economic playing field ever more in
favour of global
agribusiness corporations to the disadvantage of
Canadian farmers,” said Terry Boehm, National
Farmers Union President. “With Bill C-18’s
removal of the Canadian Wheat Board’s single
desk still before the courts, it appears these
companies are making a move to quickly secure
access to a significant portion of the $5 billion
worth of grain sales revenue that has been
controlled by the CWB.”
With Glencore entering Canada’s grain trade and
Richardson expanding its operations, on the
surface it may look as if we have two companies
where we once had one, but I would be very
surprised to see any significant competition that
would result intangible savings for farmers,”
added Boehm. “We have seen dramatic changes
in the grain handling industry in western Canada
in the last fifteen years and each one has brought
increased costs to farmers. When the iconic
prairie wooden elevators were destroyed it was
supposed to generate efficiencies. It certainly did
for companies, but farmers have seen nothing
more than ever-escalating handling charges and
increased transportation distances with a
corresponding increase in costs,” he continued.
The long history of James Richardson and Sons
has been contentious in western Canada. “Many
of the early organizers in the prairie Wheat Pools
were responding to abuses in the grain
system that companies, including Richardson,
routinely visited upon farmers,” noted Ed Sagan,
NFU Saskatchewan Regional Coordinator. “It is a
very sad day for us to see the company that was
build upon the Wheat Pools being turned over to
the very company the Pools were established to
counteract,” he commented.
“Farmers originally built the terminals and the
elevators that Viterra owns and are now up for
grabs by the big commodity trading companies.
What was once an asset owned by farmers is now
an asset to be used in a way against them. We
know that instead of controlling these assets we
will only be paying for them through handling
charges, not earning equity dividends like we
once did,” concluded Boehm.
Agrium is poised to control an even larger share
of the fertilizer market. “We saw Agrium work with
Cargill in Australia to obtain the former Australian
Wheat Board’s farm input business,” noted Doug
Scott, NFU Board member. “Agrium has
operations in the USA, Argentina, Chile, Egypt
and Europe as well. While its head office is in
Calgary, it is a global business. It’s not going to be
giving any special consideration to Canadian
famers.”
“The purchase of Viterra is not new investment,
but simply a shuffling of ownership. Nothing new
is added in terms of assets, and indeed we may
see head offices disappear from Saskatchewan at
the end of the day,” stated Boehm. The NFU
urges the Competition Bureau to review this sale
closely and to consider the impacts upon farmers
and upon Canada as a whole that would result
from the increased foreign ownership of the grain
trade as well as further concentration in Canada
of both the fertilizer and the grain sectors.
- 30 -
For more information:
Terry Boehm, NFU President - 011 33 3 44 04 82
75
Doug Scott, NFU Board Member - (780) 650-1336
or (780) 358-2376
Ed Sagan, NFU Regional Coordinator - (306) 728-
3760 or (306) 728-9050
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