Western Canadian farmers are poised to make their largest wheat sales to China in five years. The Canadian Wheat Board has signed a memorandum of agreement with China’s largest grain importer for 500 000 tonnes of Canada Western Red Spring wheat.
The deal between western Canadian farmers and COFCO is worth about $130 million at current market values.
“This is an important agreement that builds on a 50-year history of sales and cooperation between Prairie farmers and our valued Chinese partners,” said Ian White, CWB president and CEO.
The deal, to be executed before the end of 2011, was signed prior to a dinner July 3 at Expo 2010 in Shanghai. The event marked the CWB’s 75th anniversary and celebrated the half-century relationship between Prairie farmers and their Chinese customers. Leading industry and government officials from both China and Canada joined CWB officials at the commemoration. Canada’s Minister of Agriculture and Agri-Food and Minister for the CWB, Gerry Ritz, attended the signing.
“This agreement is a significant achievement for western Canadian farmers in a very competitive market. Agreements such as this are not possible without the strong support of government. We thank Minister Ritz and government officials for their direct involvement in the achievement of this important agreement,” White said.
The memorandum of agreement comes on the heels of the largest long-term agreement ever for malting barley, which was signed in April between China and western Canadian farmers. In April, a deal was inked that will see guaranteed minimum sales of 500 000 tonnes of malting barley over three years to COFCO.
Over the past half-century, China has imported more than 120 million tonnes of western Canadian wheat and barley – enough to make 279 billion loaves of bread and 55 billion bottles of beer. The CWB has operated a branch office in Beijing since 1994, one of only two CWB offices outside Canada.
