Strong Demand Pushes Global Wheat Prices Higher
By Stephanie Bryant-Erdmann
With the world consuming more wheat than it produces for the first year since 2012/13, prices are also on the rise. According to Global Trade Atlas data, the average global wheat price increased 4 percent year over year to $203 per metric ton (MT) in 2017/18 (June 1 to May 31). Most of that price increase occurred in the last five months of the marketing year as the market digested lower Northern Hemisphere wheat production estimates and strong demand for 2018/19. Here is a by-country look at current production estimates and the average wheat prices (noting that prices vary by class and quality) from major exporting countries and regions.
Michael Anderson Joins the U.S. Wheat Associates West Coast Office Team
U.S. Wheat Associates (USW) is happy to announce that Michael T. Anderson will join its staff as Assistant Director of the West Coast Office in Portland, Ore., July 9, 2018. Anderson’s responsibilities will include assisting overseas trade delegations visiting the wheat supply chain in the Pacific Northwest, outreach to state wheat commissions and the grain trade and other assignments supporting USW’s export market development activities on behalf of U.S. wheat farmers.
New U.S. Wheat Associates Officers Begin Terms at 2018 Annual Meeting
The U.S. Wheat Associates (USW) Board of Directors seated new officers at its annual meeting June 24, 2018, in Seattle, Wash.: Chairman Chris Kolstad of Ledger, Mont.; Vice Chairman Doug Goyings of Paulding, Ohio; Secretary-Treasurer Darren Padget of Grass Valley, Ore.; and Past Chairman Mike Miller of Ritzville, Wash. USW officers were elected to these one-year positions at the February 2018 board of directors meeting in Washington, D.C.
A Decade Lost: Give Farmers the Freedom to Compete
This week marks the 10-year anniversary of the signing of the U.S.-Panama Trade Promotion Agreement and the Korea-U.S. (KORUS) Free Trade Agreement. These were the last free trade agreements completed by the United States. In the decade since, there has been plenty of negotiating, but nothing to show for it.
The Only Threat from Auto Imports is Retaliation from Trading Partners
In response to a U.S. Department of Commerce Section 232 investigation into automobile and auto parts imports, U.S. Wheat Associates (USW) once again expressed concern about using questionable national security arguments as a basis for import restrictions and the potential for retaliation from trading partners.
“Agricultural exports have long been key drivers of the U.S. economy … To successfully develop relationships in new markets and maintain existing trade relationships, agricultural producers have relied extensively on MAP and FMD.” — U.S. Sen. Angus King and Sen. Maria Cantwell in a letter calling on colleagues to increase funding for USDA/FAS export market development programs. Read more here.
PNW Growers Win Support for Falling Number Research. USDA Agricultural Research Service will fund a full-time research position to study falling numbers at the Western Wheat Quality Laboratory in Pullman, Wash., to help develop new wheat varieties resistant to starch damage, study environmental factors that trigger the problem and improve the falling number test. Wheat growers and commissions in Idaho, Oregon and Washington requested funding for the position. Read more in the Online Edition.
Just the Facts. The Wheat Foods Council recently asked a public wellness website to retract an incorrect statement alleging that “Most wheat today is genetically engineered to have much higher glutamate levels than occur naturally.” In making its case, Wheat Foods Council stated that 1) “There are no commercially available genetically engineered or genetically modified wheat varieties sold anywhere in the world,” and 2) “Wheat and therefore wheat flour and vital wheat gluten do not contain any significant amounts of glutamate.”
Source: U.S. Wheat Associates
