Activities Funded in Part by the Minnesota Wheat Council

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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.

Quality Seal Campaign Continues in Egypt, Introduced in Kenya

USW is continuing its popular American Quality Wheat Seal Program in Egypt and recently introduced the program in Kenya.

Quality seal television commercials aired in Egypt throughout the fall, with a new commercial introduced in December. Print ads also appeared in a popular Egyptian women’s magazine, featuring a mother/daughter theme and the message "the quality seal marks quality assurance for the family."

USW held a workshop in mid-December for potential quality seal business partners, resulting in several applications to participate in the program. There are currently 27 companies participating in the quality seal business partner program. Program benefits include allowing the businesses to utilize the wheat seal in their product packaging and promotions. Consumer awareness about the seal and attitudes towards U.S. wheat remain high.

USW also recently introduced the quality seal to several potential business partners in the country of Kenya. The seal was well received by the potential partners, who would use the seal for premium flour.

Easing of Trade RestrictionsWill Allow Limited Sales to Cuba

Although President Clinton’s recent announcement lifting some trade restrictions with Cuba is not likely to result in sales of U.S wheat any time in the near future, it could make humanitarian aid and related work easier to conduct, should Cuba allow it. The announcement also may be viewed as yet another step in moving toward liberalization of trade with Cuba. However, in order to end or modify the nearly 40-year trade embargo, Congressional action is necessary.

Clinton’s announcement means that U.S. food and agricultural products may be sold to privatized Cuban businesses and non-governmental organizations. However, government credit for such sales will not be allowed. Wheat purchases and milling operations in Cuba are controlled by the Cuban government, ruling out any sales of U.S. wheat. Cuba annually imports about 900,000 tons of wheat and 100,000 tons of flour, primarily from Europe, Canada and Argentina.

In December, U.S. Wheat Associates (USW), the North Dakota Wheat Commission, North Carolina Small Grain Growers and the Kansas Wheat Commission funded the donation of a 20-ton container of U.S. wheat flour to Cuba. The flour was milled from U.S. hard red spring, soft red winter and hard red winter wheats and was delivered to Caritas, a Catholic charitable organization in Cuba.

Exports to Europe rise

During the last five years, U.S. wheat exports to western Europe have risen significantly. In the 1997/98 marketing year, U.S. wheat exports to the region totaled 1.4 million metric tons, more than double what was exported in 1992/93. Exports are expected to grow 22% by 2002.

January Marks 40-Year Presence for Wheat Growers in Europe

U.S. wheat growers first made their export marketing presence in Europe through an organization called Great Plains Wheat, which opened an office in Rotterdam in 1959. Great Plains Wheat merged with another regional organization, Western Wheat Associates, in 1980 to form U.S. Wheat Associates.

USW Launches New Miller Outreach Project in Morocco

USW/Casablanca recently launched a Moroccan Milling School Outreach Program. The program will target practicing professionals and will include a full-time milling consultant who will establish a mobile training facility to expand school resources beyond the current two-year shift miller training program. The consultant will have a staff of four based at the milling school, and will further USW’s program for helping millers there understand the intrinsic value of American wheat and its potential role in blending to improve flour performance and economy.

USW crop quality seminars: reports from overseas

USW recently completed its annual round of informative, well-received crop quality seminars in various locations throughout the world. The seminars educated participants about the production and quality factors of the six classes of U.S. wheat harvested in 1998. For the first time, biotechnology and the production of products through the use of genetically modified organisms was presented at USW’s crop quality seminars to educate foreign buyers and processors about recent developments in these areas. Following are reports from directors in USW’s overseas offices about some of the seminars conducted in their respective regions.

North African Region

George Galasso, Regional Director

Crop quality seminars in Tunis, Tunisia, and Casablanca, Morocco, collectively attracted nearly 100 participants. Participants included importers, millers, cereal scientists and government officials. The Tunis seminar included six Algerians representing the Office of Cereals and two private milling/importing companies. One of these companies is the single largest purchaser of American wheat in the region, purchasing over 25,000 metric tons (mt) of hard red winter and over 35,000 mt hard amber durum.

The current marketing year has been marked by aggressive European subsidies and cheap Eastern origin wheat. The seminar was an attempt to further position American wheat as "improver" wheats, which could be used to remedy deficient performance of local wheat and that already imported. Therefore, the seminars also included presentations on wheat blending including physical, chemical and processing considerations. Evaluations of the seminars indicated a high level of satisfaction with their quality and content. The blending presentation was generally well received, and generated the most comments.

Seoul, Korea:

Won Bang Koh, Country Director

More than 100 Korean millers, bakers, confectioners, noodle manufacturers and representatives from other food industries attended the 1998 USW Crop Quality Seminar in Seoul, Korea. In addition to the primary seminar topics, information on breeding wheats for desirable end-use quality characteristics was presented.

European Region:

Vince Peterson, Regional Vice President, Valentina Shustova, Marketing Assistant

USW conducted its first Crop Quality Seminar in Russia in the city of St. Petersburg. This city was chosen because the privatization of its milling, baking and pasta industries is well developed; it satisfies most of its 2,600 mt/day milling requirements from outside sources; and its favorable geographic position as one of the few operating ports in the area. All of these factors create good opportunities for U.S. wheat deliveries to this region in a more favorable economic climate. In addition to the general crop quality seminar topics, information about U.S. wheat inspection methods and procedures was described. This topic is important in the Russian market, because wheat standards and inspection procedures differ considerably from those in the U.S., sometimes causing misunderstandings and quality discrepancies.

USW this year conducted another first-of-its-kind seminar in Batumi, Georgia, when it held a Wheat Buying Seminar for those engaged in the wheat industry in the Caucasus Region, which consists of the FSU countries of Armenia, Azerbaijan and Georgia. The goal of the seminar was to provide basic wheat trade education, as privatization of the milling industry in this region has resulted in new businesses acquiring responsibility for purchasing decisions. The seminar attracted about 45 participants with topics including international contracts, wheat quality specifications and analysis of contract specifications, the U.S. wheat marketing system and descriptions of each U.S. wheat.

People’s Republic of China/Hong Kong Region:

Matt Weimar, Regional Vice President/Christopher Ouyang, Country Director

The 1998 USW Crop Quality Seminar in Xiamen in theFujian Province of China attracted nearly 75 participants, including representatives from Central Government agencies and foreign-invested milling enterprises and from a few progressive locally-owned and managed mills and several foreign trading companies. Special topics presented at the seminar included the importance of wheat gluten quality over quantity, why U.S. wheat classes suit the processing of Asian-style wheat foods and an overview of Portland, Ore., Wheat Marketing Center studies on flour blending and mill stream selection for noodle and steamed bread processing.