Expert


	Issue 105 Prairie Grains


	Prairie Grains is the official publication of the Minnesota Association of Wheat Growers, North Dakota Grain Growers Association, Montana Grain Growers Association and South Dakota Wheat, Inc.




	DON’T CALL ME AN EXPERT

	*This is just the way I do things*


	Trade Mission is Great Learning Experience


	By Buzz Mattelin

My name is Buzz Mattelin. I am a wheat and barley producer from Northeast Montana and member of the Montana Wheat and Barley Committee. Along with Shannon Schlect, U.S. Wheat Deputy Director of Policy; Sara Olsen and Tom Zwainz producers from Colorado and Washington, I recently participated in an Asian trade mission organized by U.S. Wheat Associates. Following a briefing at the U.S. Wheat office in Portland we were able to visit the Wheat Marketing Center, Federal Grain Inspection Service (FGIS), and a grain export facility. Our trip included stops in China, Philippines,

Thailand, and Japan; countries which are very interesting and have very different wheat customers. Upon arriving at each country we were met by U.S. Wheat staff and briefed on the country’s past wheat use and market potential. Visits in each country centered on baking schools affiliated with U.S. Wheat , flour mills and or flour millers, and bakeries.Our first stop was Hong Kong where we gained some insight into Chinese culture. I was impressed and a little envious of the Chinese government emphasis on food security. Food scarcity has had a significant impact on Chinese culture, as evidenced by their greeting. While most westerners say “How are you?”, the Chinese say “Have you eaten?” From Hong Kong we rode a train into mainland China to the city of Guangzhou. The train ride impressed upon us the task of providing food for a growing population of 1.3 billion people. The route which once spanned about one hundred miles of rice patties is now seemingly solid high rise apartment buildings. China plants about the same acreage of wheat as the U.S. but has twice the production. About 70% of the wheat acres have supplemental water. With other demands for water and declining aquifers, one questions how long this production is sustainable. We visited two campuses of the Sino American Baking School which is supported in part by U.S. Wheat Associates.

Next stop was Manila where the U.S. has had a large presence the last century. The Philippines have a young population, 85% under the age of 35. Poverty is extreme in the Philippines with 40% living below the world poverty level of $2 per day. Most of the poor eat rice but would prefer to eat wheat if they could afford to buy bread. Pan de Sol is the bread staple in the Philippines and is quite sweet at 16% sugar. Four of seven flour mills in the Philippines use 100% U.S. wheat . This loyalty is due in part to the availability of PL 480 funds to build mills in the post World War Two era. It was gratifying to see flour brands that prominently displayed made with “Montana spring wheat.”

Bangkok Thailand, the Venice of the East, was our next stop and we enjoyed a Sunday and our only free day of the trip. Our traveling party grew to seven in Bangkok, as we were joined by U.S. Wheat staff from Manila, Shane Townsend,and Singapore, Mike Spier and Roy Chung. Roy, U.S. Wheat baking expert, acted as tour guide with a ferry ride up river to the Grand Palace. We found Bangkok to be clean and modern, with elevated rail and highways and a very good infrastructure. The Thais use the highest quality flour 13.5% protein which requires 14.5% protein wheat. Their bakeries were high tech and efficient, but continue to utilize low cost labor, $8/day, in their packaging. These bakeries export to SE Asia with the Vietnamese market experiencing very rapid growth. We visited an instant noodle bakery that produces 5.5 million packages of product per day. While most of the wheat used in production comes from Australia, these noodles represent a large potential market for hard white wheat.

Our last stop was Tokyo. Japan is our largest customer of U.S. Wheat. Japan’s population of 120 million is declining at a rate of over 1% a year. If the current trend continues by the year 2050 the population will only be 60 million. The Japanese economy is now deflating as prices of goods and services are becoming lower. I’m convinced that our largest customer will work through their problems and remain a strong customer. Our visit to a Nisshin flour mill was most impressive with top notch cleanliness, procedures and a fully automated warehouse. Our visit with the Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries (MAFF) yielded a couple questions and concerns with the 2009 crop including high moisture and lower proteins. MAFF also expressed their concern about genetically modified (GM) wheat entering the market place. This was the only time a real concern about GM wheat was expressed during our trip.

My participation in the U.S. Wheat Associates trade mission to Asia was a great learning experience. Shannon and the U.S. Wheat Associates staff throughout Asia are well qualified, dedicated and doing a great job for U.S. wheat producers. I returned home with two dominate lessons learned. There are millions of potential customers in Asia. And the reason the millers and bakers in these countries use U.S. wheat is because of high quality wheat that we produce.