The CWB shipped 424,000 tonnes of western Canadian wheat through the Port of Churchill in the 2008 shipping season, above typical annual levels through the port.
“Despite very tight supplies of prairie grain during most of the Churchill shipping season, we were able to ship above-normal volumes through Churchill, which is a valuable export route for farmers,” said CWB president and CEO Ian White, adding that annual grain volume through the northern Manitoba port tends to hover around 400,000 tonnes.
In the previous crop year, wheat supplies were drawn down to low levels in order to take full advantage of market price rallies. The price spikes also contributed to an extraordinary shipping season through Churchill in 2007 – the highest in 30 years, at 621,000 tonnes.
However, subsequent low stock levels on the prairies left no opportunity for another consecutive year of record volumes at Churchill.
“We are pleased to have been able to use our new Churchill grain storage program to keep export volumes high,” White added. “We are committed to ensuring Churchill remains a viable export alternative for prairie farmers.”
In total, 15 ocean vessels loaded grain in Churchill between August 9 and October 20 this year bound for customers in Africa, Turkey and Europe. This included two shiploads of grain for the United Kingdom on vessels that unloaded Russian fertilizer in Churchill, creating an important two-way opportunity for a port where most grain ships arrive empty.
The Churchill Gateway Development Corporation, a partnership comprising port and railway owners OmniTrax, the province of Manitoba and Western Economic Diversification, negotiated the fertilizer shipments under its “Arctic Bridge” initiative.
The last ship to leave Churchill on October 20 was the Swift Cro, carrying 24,000 tonnes of Canada Western Red Spring wheat to Sudan. The port is almost entirely reliant on CWB grain for its viability. CWB shipments comprised 100 percent of the grain shipped through Churchill for the past two years and 90 percent of all traffic through the port.
Exporting prairie wheat through Churchill saves farmers money on transportation in terms of rail-freight costs and avoiding St. Lawrence Seaway charges. Churchill grain exports also help ensure the ongoing success of the port, a major employer and economic driver for the northern community.
The CWB’s new Churchill Storage Program pays farmers in the port’s catchment area (mainly northeastern Saskatchewan) to retain grain on-farm for movement through the northern port. To take advantage of limited ice-free days, the Churchill season begins before the new crop is harvested each summer. It therefore relies heavily on grain saved from the year before.
Sign-up for the 2009 Churchill Storage Program has been extended to January 30, 2009 to help ensure adequate volumes of grain are available for shipment next year through the port. Eligible producers can find out more at www.cwb.ca under “Farmer Contracts.”
Controlled by western Canadian farmers, the CWB is the largest wheat and barley marketer in the world. One of Canada’s biggest exporters, the Winnipeg-based organization sells grain to over 70 countries and returns all sales revenue, less marketing costs to farmers.
