CWB Year End Report

Western Canadian farmers responded enthusiastically to a growing array of pricing and payment options in 2005-06.  Ken Ritter, chair of the Canadian Wheat Board says uptake is strong on every front adding that farmers are gaining additional flexibility without losing the benefits of price pooling and the single desk.   Adrian Measner, CWB president and CEO says more farmers are committing more grain to a larger variety of programs specifically designed to give them the flexibility to suit their own business needs.  In it's year end press conference the CWB said the 2005-06 crop year saw prices for wheat and barley strengthen, driven by rallies in the U.S. futures market and tightening global grain stocks.  Measner says prices are at historically high levels in terms of U.S. dollars, however, the strong Canadian dollar has eroded returns to producers on this side of the border.    He adds this was the second straight year in which we've marketed large quantities of lower-quality grain.   Looking forward to this years crop, the CWB's weather and crop surveillance department is projecting a wheat crop of 19.1 million tonnes, durum production of 3.6 million tonnes and barley production of 9.8 million tonnes. The CWB expects a bulk export program (not including products) of 17.5 million tonnes of wheat, durum and barley for the 2006-07 crop year.