June 1997
WHEAT 
WORLD
Activities Funded in Part by the Minnesota Wheat Checkoff
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Prairie Grains is the
official publication of
the Minnesota
Association of
Wheat Growers,
North Dakota Grain
Growers Association,
South Dakota Wheat,
Inc., and the
Minnesota Barley
Growers Association.
With Egypt the top buyer of U.S. wheat the last few years, and privatization of wheat imports occurring within the Egyptian market (the Egyptian government gave up control of all wheat imports in 1993), it goes without saying that U.S. Wheat Associates (USW), the producer-funded organization that promotes the use of American wheat around the world, focuses much attention on maintaining and expanding this important market. A major focus in this effort has been an ongoing "American Quality Wheat" promotional campaign. The central feature of this campaign is an AQW seal developed by the USW Middle East/East Africa office, to create consumer driven demand for the quality of American wheat. In addition to the AQW seal stamped on wheat food products made from American wheat, the multi-faceted promotional campaign has included bakery contests, the creation of an American Wheat Information Center, an educational tour of the U.S. wheat industry for Egyptian journalists, as well as print and television advertising. One television commercial has featured an Egyptian mom serving an array of wheat-food products at her son's birthday party. The food, including sandwiches, pizza, donuts, and a birthday cake, were all made from U.S. wheat indicated by the AQW symbol on product packaging.
Squelching misinformation
Along with the AQW campaign, one of the most successful efforts conducted by USW's regional office in Cairo, Egypt, last year was its handling of a potentially damaging - and incorrect - Egyptian press report about Karnal bunt. To counter the incorrect information, USW created half-page ads that laid out the facts about this disease. The ads, which ran in Cairo's largest newspapers, are credited not only with averting significant export losses, but also with instilling confidence in U.S. wheat quality among Egyptian firms that are participating in USW's AQW campaign.
Like computer users, wheat users need tech support
As a new computer user, you may have called upon a computer technician or software expert to help answer technical questions. New wheat users also need technical support. For example, Cereal Chemistry Consultant Dr. Bert D'Appolonia, retired chair of NDSU's cereal chemistry department, is called upon by USW to serve as a consultant for new users of U.S. hard red spring (HRS) wheat. Last year, for example, USW coordinated the visit of Dr. D'Appolonia to selected Arabian Gulf countries. Buyers in these countries, who had recently purchased U.S. HRS for the first time, were finding that U.S. HRS performed somewhat differently than the wheats they had purchased from U.S. competitors. Dr. D'Appolonia helped address buyers concerns, and some of the buyers later traveled to the United States at their own expense to learn more about U.S. wheats.
Keeping tabs with the Soubry Mill
USW/Rotterdam Marketing Specialist Goris van Lit makes it a point to stay in touch with the Soubry pasta plant and milling complex in southwest Belgium. This successful family-owned company has doubled its pasta production capacity in the last six months. The company mill processes U.S. spring wheat on a regular basis as well as U.S. durum when available on the market. An increasing interest in U.S. durum in this region could result in larger U.S. business in the years to come.
U.S. wheat inroads to China
Among factors leading to an increasing interest in U.S. wheat in China are the annual USW Crop Quality and Grain Marketing Seminars conducted in at least two major Chinese cities each year, in-plant visits and technical discussions, and travel by central government officials to the U.S. These activities also are helping increase awareness about all wheat classes available from the U.S., and are a major channel through which millers in China are realizing the ability of the various U.S. wheat classes to meet end-use specific food processing requirements. In the past, many officials concerned with quality control or having any influence on purchasing decisions were less aware of wheat types other than soft red winter (SRW) and hard red winter (HRW), which are most commonly imported from the U.S.
During the 1980s, China occasionally imported 500,000 metric tons (MT) or more of HRS wheat from the U.S. each year, with Canada's North Pacific shipments of spring wheat in favor due to reduced shipping costs. Since 1990, only small volumes of U.S. HRS wheat have entered China. However, in recent months the demand for dark northern spring (DNS) and northern spring is increasing from the more progressively managed mills, which are milling for specific end uses and requiring certain quality aspects to meet food processors' demands. These buyers consider the quality elements of DNS an advantage over any shipping premiums from the U.S. Gulf versus competitors' exports out of the North Pacific. Although the total import volume of DNS is low compared to other Asian markets, it has increased in the last year, with total imports in calendar year 1997 expected to exceed 200,000 MT.
USW Organizes Durum Milling Course at ESLAMO
In an effort to counter aggressive Canadian competition, U.S. Wheat Associates (USW) hosted a three-day durum milling short course in March at the ESLAMO Milling School in Puerto Cabello, Venezuela. The course highlighted durum milling characteristics, product quality and hardness, and the relative strengths of U.S. durum wheats, particularly in milling. The course attracted 20 durum millers from Venezuela (a top U.S. HRS and durum buyer) as well as Guatemala, Mexico and Colombia. Principal speakers included North Dakota Wheat Commission Deputy Administrator Neal Fisher. Since ESLAMO was inaugurated in July 1994, 382 participants have been trained at the school in milling, mill management, quality control, baking, pasta manufacturing and grain grading.
U.S. Comes Out Clean in National Karnal Bunt Survey
The national Karnal bunt survey conducted by the USDA during the last year found no evidence of Karnal bunt in wheat-producing areas in the U.S., outside of the extremely limited areas in the southwestern U.S. where the disease was first discovered in March 1996. Strict measures remain in place in these areas in the southwest to prevent Karnal bunt from spreading elsewhere. In addition, USDA recently lifted Karnal bunt restrictions placed on limited areas of the southeastern U.S. several months ago. USDA had placed the restriction following the discovery during the national survey of spores that resembled Karnal bunt. However, after extensive testing, USDA determined that the area was free of the disease. USDA plans to continue testing wheat-producing areas to remain free of the disease. U.S. Wheat Associates continues to work with governments of the few countries that are still restricting imports from countries known to have Karnal bunt.
Taiwan Researchers Survey Frozen Dough Industry
Taiwan's Hsin Chu Food Industry Research and Development Institute recently completed a survey of the country's frozen dough industry, finding that total frozen dough sales in Taiwan were $36.3 million in 1996, up 36 percent from 1995. Survey results indicated that the most popular frozen dough produced in Taiwan is frozen puff pastry dough, which makes up 30 percent of the country's total frozen dough production. Following are sweet rolls at 20 percent, Danish rolls at 14 percent, hard rolls at 12 percent, white pan bread at 10 percent, pizza crust at nine percent, doughnuts at four percent and cookies at one percent. The manufacturers surveyed reported that they need technology that will help them produce good quality frozen bread dough and sweet roll dough. During the last year, U.S. Wheat Associates has begun conducting educational courses for frozen dough products, often made from HRS wheat, to meet manufacturer's needs.
Breakfast With a Cow Foot
U.S. wheat promotion overseas involves exposure to different cultures, and different tastes. Almost all USW staff as well as U.S. wheat producers who have traveled overseas on USW business have entertaining tales about unusual meals, at least unusual to our American palates. One interesting dining story comes from USW/Rotterdam Regional Vice President Vince Peterson and USW/Moscow Marketing Assistant Valentina Shustova, following a recent trade servicing visit to the Former Soviet Union country of Armenia, during which they were invited to a special local breakfast tradition called haash. Here's their story:
Our invitation to the breakfast haash included a description of the elaborate preparation of the meal, likening it to our preparation of Thanksgiving dinner, with the cook staying up all night to prepare this special breakfast. A haash begins with the very large stacks of toasted lavash, a local flat bread similar to a large, thin Mexican flour tortilla. While awaiting for the haash to arrive, each diner breaks the large lavash pieces into bite-size pieces, creating small, individual mountains of bread chips. Then, with quite a lot of fanfare, a steaming large bowl of haash is placed before each person. Each large bowl is filled about half full with a light, lemon colored broth. Sitting proudly in the center of the broth is a half-submerged cow foot, from about the ankle bone down, including the hoof. Much to our relief, the cow foot is removed from the bowl to a side plate and covered with a large piece of lavash. Copious amounts of crushed garlic and salt are then added to the broth along with the lavash bread chips, creating a cow foot -flavored bread mush, which is devoured by hand with great gusto. Our hosts informed us that haash is a little difficult to digest, and therefore, ample quantities of vodka must be consumed to aid the digestive process. Apparently, there are four required vodka toasts at any haash breakfast: 1) for "good morning;" 2) to "the people that are eating the haash;" 3) to "those that prepared the haash;" 4) to the meat." What meat, we reluctantly ask? Our hosts answered by simultaneously uncovering them as you would a chicken leg at a barbecue. We, however, were unable to find any meat on our cow feet!"
WHEAT WORLD is brought to you by the producer-funded Minnesota Wheat Research and Promotion Council, provides insight about U.S. Wheat Associates, the export market development organization representing U.S. wheat growers through 18 state wheat organizations:AZ, AR, CA, CO, ID, KS, MN, MT, NE, NC, ND, OK, OR, SD, TX, VA, WA, and WY.