The organization will use the support to promote Canadian wheat
By Diego Flammini
Staff Writer
Farms.com
Cereals Canada and other Canadian ag organizations received federal support to help operate and promote Canadian agriculture.
On May 3, Agriculture and Agri-Food Minister Marie-Claude Bibeau announced about $4.4 million in funding under the AgriMarketing Program of the Canadian Agricultural Partnership (CAP):
- Up to $3.52 million for Cereals Canada,
- Up to $461,000 for the Canada Grains Council, and
- Up to $417,000 for The Prairie Oat Growers Association.
Cereals Canada plans to use its portion of the funding to reach international new markets by promoting the high-quality aspects of Canadian wheat and durum wheat.
Some of the new markets Cereals Canada is doing market development work in includes Bangladesh and Nigeria.
The process of identifying a new market and finding an opportunity for Canadian wheat is extensive, said Dean Dias, CEO of Cereals Canada.
“Take Nigeria, for example,” he said. “It’s a developing country and as the economy rises, consumers want to eat more meat, bread and baked products. But some of the wheat Nigerian millers are buying doesn’t have the same protein as Canadian wheat.”
Representatives from Cereals Canada have engaged with Nigerian millers about the types of end products they want to make, the flour quality they’re looking for and what they’re currently buying.
Once that information is collected, a Cereals Canada team works to see how much Canadian wheat can be blended with what Nigeria is already buying to ensure a suitable flour product.
“Before we preach, we learn about what that market needs,” Dias said.
When the Cereals Canada team has an understanding about what Nigerian millers need, either a Nigerian delegation will visit Canada or vice versa to do some hands-on training.
“Once they understand the products they’re looking for can be made, and the benefits of using Canadian wheat, they’ll buy a little bit to analyze it and teach their bakers because now the properties have changed,” Dias said.
Nigeria purchased about 10,000 tonnes of Canadian wheat 10 years ago. Last year that country purchased almost 1 million tonnes, Dias added.
The Canada Grains Council is using its portion of the CAP funding to increase and diversify Canadian grain exports to international markets and to seize domestic market opportunities.
And The Prairie Oat Growers Association will promote Canadian oats by promoting the health and environmental benefits of oats.