The Chinese New Year will be celebrated in Beijing on Monday with dumplings made from 100-per-cent western Canadian wheat flour.
Under a unique CWB branding initiative in China, flour milled on the Prairies from Canada Western Red Spring wheat is being showcased in a new high-end product by the Guchuan Food Company, official supplier to the 2008 Olympics Games. A small volume of flour was shipped in several ocean-vessel containers for use in this pilot project, designed to appeal to a growing market sector of affluent Chinese consumers.
“Guchuan has recognized the value that consumers place on wheat from Canada,” CWB president and CEO Ian White said. “The objective of our branding efforts is to earn more money for farmers by leveraging Western Canada’s reputation for the world’s best grain.”
The dumpling flour is being distributed in bags and gift boxes designed jointly by the CWB and Guchuan, featuring the CWB logo and a Canadian wheat quality message. The Guchuan company launched the new product at a January 20 dinner in Beijing with more than 300 officials, media, distributors, supermarket representatives and Canadian embassy officials.
“In the past, products made with Canadian flour have been widely consumed in China, but without a brand name or visible identification,” said Haiguang Shi, general manager of the CWB office in Beijing.
“With this initiative, the CWB is helping to increase the profile of Canadian wheat directly to consumers in hopes of creating demand at that level.”
The arrival of the Year of the Ox will be celebrated on January 26. Traditional Chinese New Year food includes jiao zi, which are dumplings made from wheat flour.
The CWB has marketed wheat to China for more than 50 years. In 1961, China and Canada signed their first formal long-term agreement on wheat trading. The wheat trade was dubbed an “icebreaker” that helped pave the way for diplomatic relations between the two nations in 1970, after the upheaval of the Cultural Revolution. The CWB established a permanent office in Beijing in 1994.
Controlled by western Canadian farmers, the CWB is the largest wheat and barley marketer in the world. As 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.
