November 13, 2006

 

Canada's feed barley sales to Japan seen lower from year ago

 

 

Canadian feed barley sales to Japan during the 2006/07 (August-July) crop year are expected to fall short of the 2005/06 total. But had a larger portion of Canada's barley crop graded as feed, the sales could have easily surpassed the year-ago level, according to industry sources.

 

Canadian feed barley exports to Japan in 2006/07 were forecast in the 250,000- -tonne range by Joe Wang, a coarse grains analyst with the Market Analysis Division of Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada.

 

Exports of feed barley by Canada during 2005/06 totalled 335,000 tonnes as revealed by Canadian Wheat Board (CWB) statistics.

 

Wang said that with Australia out of the feed barley export market, Canadian sales of feed barley to Japan could have easily surpassed the 2005/06 level if Canada had harvested a lower-grade barley crop this summer.

 

Canada, the US and Australia generally are the main suppliers of feed barley to Japan. But with Australia out of the competition and the US harvesting a smaller-than-expected barley crop this fall, the opportunity was there for Canada to grab a greater share of the feed barley market in Japan, Wang said.

 

Wang said the good thing out of this is that the price of the feed barley sold by the CWB was probably pretty good.

 

Mike Jubinville, an analyst with farmer advisory service ProFarmer Canada, also estimated that CWB feed barley sales to Japan were probably in the 200,000- to 250,000-tonne range.

 

"The word circulating in the trade is that the CWB early this fall had booked about 1,400 rail cars to move feed barley to the West Coast export facilities and had booked an additional 1,400 cars recently," Jubinville said. "That would work out to about 200,000 to 250,000 tonnes."

 

The feed barley was for nearby shipment to Japan.

 

Jubinville said Japan traditionally prefers to purchase feed barley from Canada and Australia but may have to look to alternative outlets such as the Black Sea region for its feed barley.

 

"Japanese importers prefer the Canadian and Australian feed barley as their quality specifications are easily met," he said. "By having to source feed barley from Russia or the Ukraine, there could be problems in meeting those requirements."

 

Jubinville also said Japanese importers, if unable to find the quality feed barley they require, could also turn to alternative feeds such as corn.

 

Maureen Fitzhenry, a media relations spokeswoman for the CWB, could neither confirm nor deny the feed barley sales to Japan.

 

However, Rick Steinke, director of the CWB's Market Analysis Division, has previously indicated that the CWB was partially responsible for the high domestic feed barley price in Western Canada, given that the CWB has been active in the barley export market.

 

"We have been active sellers of barley during the Japanese weekly tenders, and that has filtered back to the domestic market to some degree," he was quoted as saying previously.