Americans increasing barley sales to Japan

[craig]

I read an interesting news clip this morning with comments from an american barley association commenting that the Japanese were buying American barley and that they were basically hoping they could get there foot in the door into that market. Leads to an interesting question. Are CWB premium feed barley markets being sacrificed this year to try and protect the malt barley situation. We have a premium market offering premium prices this year, yet we are prepared to let that business go to out American competitors.

[TOM4CWB]

Craig,

I agree... CWB sales are more politically motivated than I have seen before. Sell early, and cheap for Malt, don't reflect high prices in Feed barley pool 2... politics are centre to CWB strategy. NOT maximising Barley grain price returns.

I have watched year after year... as the CWB interest payments on the barley pools could have been at least competitive with domestic prices... they were not. The prices were left in the lower quadrant of pricing... reflecting the political will at the CWB to restrain domestic feed barley prices. Some say the COntingency Fund top ups were just greed... there was much more to it than that.

How do you keep cattlemen who can be bought on side behind the CWB "single desk"? KEEP BArley prices skewed to the low end through market manipulation... and the CWB sales staff are masters at this.

These distortions also allows Malt sales at lower values without alerting some "designated area" single minded folks about the distortion being implemented in the CDN barley market as a whole.

[charliep]

International barley prices are under preasure reflecting the Ukraine government easing up on their barley export licences. Saw a report today that some of this barley is headed for Japan.

Lots of feed barley in eastern Europe (including Russia). Issues are likely there on quality/logistics into a just in time shipping market with limited in country storage. No one else is any better at meeting Japan's needs including Canada.

Every sale begins with the first boat/B train and the relationship takes off from there. This barley relationship between Eastern Europe and Saudi Arabia other middle east and North African countries. Japan will be no different. Malt barley may be next.

[hoppsing]

Interesting. That CWB is supposedly selling early and cheap to maltsters and yet, when new plants were built in Montana and Idaho to replace old capacity, there were statements that these plants were not built in Canada because of the CWB. So which is it? Also, no mention of the uncompetitiveness of Alberta (higher energy and labour costs)

[charliep]

craig

Interesting enough, I would suggest that having the US putting some priority on the Japanese feed barley market is a good thing - Canada and the US can work together to package sales to Japan. The best way to be competitive with the Aussie and other world markets is to have an on going source of price quotes off the west coast. Wouldn't mean business every week (Japan buys about 25,000 tonnes/week) but at least the west coast would be in the game when prices work.

US barley exports have amounted to about 300,000 tonnes since June 1 versus 400,000 tonnes a year ago. Looking at the numbers, you can see a cargo or two of feed barley going out of Portland every month (likely Japan). Canada had shipped 160,000 tonnes of barley to the end of December, down from 188,000 same time period 2005. My guess is that is about 5 cargoes of feed barley with the rest human food.