October 30, 2009
Canada moves 529,000 tonnes of wheat via Churchill port in 2009
The Canadian Wheat Board shipped 529,000 tonnes of western Canadian wheat through the Port of Churchill during the 2009 shipping season, the second-highest volume since 1977.
"This has been another tremendous year for Churchill," CWB President and Chief Executive Ian White said Thursday in a press release.
A total of 18 ocean-going vessels loaded wheat or durum during the short shipping season, said the CWB. The last ship to load left the port Oct. 27 with 23,000 tonnes of wheat and durum bound for Europe. Shipments were also made to Africa, Mexico and Brazil during the year.
In comparison, 621,000 tonnes of wheat and durum went through the port in 2007 and the record volume of 710,000 tonnes was set in 1977.
Churchill, located on Hudson Bay about 1,000 kilometres north of Winnipeg, is Canada's only Arctic port and has a limited shipping season that typically runs from the end of July to early November.
