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U.S. Wheat Farmers and Their Overseas Customers Share Unique Connections

Behind the world’s most reliable supply of wheat are the world’s most dependable people. Those people, from U.S. Wheat Associates staff to the state wheat commissions and U.S. wheat farm families to the many hands along the U.S. supply chain, represent an industry that is always changing. But many of the overseas customers USW works with overseas can also say the same. Despite the different roles or distances between us, all of the people in our story share an unspoken connection, not only through U.S. wheat but through our shared values of growth, hard work and family.

These connections are a part of our story.

RANDY SUESS
Retired Washington Wheat Farmer, 2011/12 USW Chairman

“I had the opportunity of a lifetime to travel with USW to many countries and visit with buyers, millers and bakers. My thanks to those who made us feel so welcome. The millers are most gracious hosts and always showed up in large numbers at USW events. I was very proud to attend the 50th anniversary of U.S. wheat market development organizations in the Philippines. After one event, Norman Uy and his family honored me by hosting dinner. His son Stevie visited my farm the following year and is now taking over the mill.”

STEVIE UY
AVP & SBU Head, Flour Division, RFM Corporation, Republic of the Philippines

“RFM Corporation pioneered the regional flour milling industry in 1958. Today, it is one of the biggest food and beverage companies in the Philippines. I am in the 4th generation managing part of the company. I have been to the United States with USW twice. In Washington, Randy Suess took us to a plateau overlooking fields of golden soft white wheat in every direction. U.S. farmers are all proud of their production and heritage. These visits helped me appreciate where our raw materials come from and how much work and risk the farmer must take every year.”

 

DON SCHIEBER
Oklahoma Wheat Farmer, 2010/11 USW Chairman

“In 2014 a USW trade team visited my farm. I had a great time giving the team members rides in my combine. Anna-Mart Rust with Pioneer Foods in South Africa really enjoyed it and we talked about the differences between our lives. This memorable experience came full circle in September 2018 when I met Anna-Mart again, this time in South Africa on a USW Board Team visit and she took me to a farm equipment dealer and farm show, and hosted me in her home. That kind of connection is so important.”

ANNA-MART RUST
Procurement Manager, Pioneer Foods, South Africa

“It was wonderful to reconnect with Don Schieber when Pioneer Foods hosted a USW group in 2018 in South Africa. I took Don to a John Deere retailer, to a big agricultural show and to our Stellenbosch Winelands. This day is memorable as I could show Don how farmers and other South Africans live compared with American farmers, as he did when I visited his farm in 2014. We shared our differences but we found we had the same goal — to produce the best wheat and food possible!”

Discover more stories about the connection between U.S. wheat farmers and their customers.

 

View video on Vimeo.

 

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The Story Behind Dependable People, Reliable Wheat

Over the years, U.S. Wheat Associates (USW) has described the value of U.S. wheat to overseas buyers, millers and wheat food processors in many ways. We have called it “the world’s most reliable choice.” We have suggested it is “the wheat you want from producers you can depend on.” And we have offered it as “high quality wheat for every need with unmatched service and value.”

What we have said about U.S. wheat is not an empty promise. Through seasons of surplus and scarcity, and wide variability in prices, USW continues to make this case because U.S. wheat farmers have consistently produced abundant supplies of excellent quality wheat that has earned an enduring reputation for reliability and value over many years.

Every year, productive U.S. wheat farm families produce enough wheat to fill dinner tables at home, and still have more than half their crops to share with milling and food industries around the world.

As part of our celebration of 40 years operating as USW, we remain true to the differential value of U.S. wheat in this simple expression: “Dependable People. Reliable Wheat.”

Ultimately, USW believes customers from around the world continue to turn to the United States for wheat because buying it carries less risk. U.S. wheat quality is predictable and the Federal Grain Inspection Service (FGIS), as an objective third party, certifies that all exported wheat meets import specifications. Their inspectors create a shipping log that is available to the buyer as an additional risk management tool.

The Federal Grain Inspection Service (FGIS), as an objective third party, certifies that all exported wheat meets import specifications.

The U.S. wheat store also offers six distinct classes that are proven specific, high-quality ingredients for any end-product need. Hard red winter, hard red spring, soft white, hard white, soft red winter wheat and durum each offer inherent quality and functional value.

That is reliable wheat.

Moreover, no other wheat seller does more than the United States to add value to its wheat through customer support. At its very base, this support comes from the farm families who take great care in producing the highest quality wheat in the most sustainable ways possible. They work hard each year to grow their farms, honor their family legacies and to ensure greater value for their customers at home and abroad.

In good years and bad, U.S. wheat farmers have supported USW’s effort to work directly with buyers to answer questions and resolve issues in purchasing, shipping or using their six classes of wheat. Their contributions to state wheat commissions who in turn contribute a portion of those funds to USW, which in turn qualifies USW to apply for export market development funds managed by USDA’s Foreign Agricultural Service.

With USW, buyers also get professional technical assistance, education, information and personalized consulting that help strengthen overseas milling, storage and handling, and end product industries.

The highest quality food for the world demands the highest quality wheat. For 40 years dependable people have made the difference.

Today, we remain fixed on the mission of the farmers who created an enduring legacy of commitment and partnership to provide the highest quality wheat for almost every customer need, backed by transparent pricing, trusted third-party certification and unmatched service before and after the sale.

Those are dependable people.

We invite our customers to join us in celebrating our 40th year as USW. We will continue to share the many ways in which the reliability of U.S. wheat and the dependability of U.S. farmers, USW, and our government and educational partners make a positive difference for our customers all over the world.

 

View video on Vimeo.

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Wheat Industry News

Recent news and highlights from around the wheat industry.

Speaking of Wheat: “Wheat farmers and Mexico’s wheat buyers are very glad to see the cloud of uncertainty lifted from our trade relationship. Replacing NAFTA without harm to the wheat trade relationship was a priority for all of us – mission accomplished.” – Doug Goyings, USW Chairman and Wheat Farmer from Paulding, Ohio, noting one of the benefits of the U.S., Mexico, Canada Agreement signed into U.S. law last week by President Trump.

Our Sincere Sympathy to former USW colleague Pam Leckie Wiese and the family of former USW Regional Vice President, Sub-Sahara Africa, Ed Wiese who passed away at age 71 on Jan. 25, 2020, in Florida.

Japanese Perceptions of Gene Editing. A team of Japanese researchers surveyed Japanese experts and the public about their perceptions of the benefits, risks, and value of using gene editing in Japan. A partial summary of results suggested that molecular biology experts had higher benefit and value perceptions, as well as lower risk perceptions regarding new technologies. Although the lay public tended to have more favorable attitudes toward gene editing than toward genetic modification, such differences were much smaller than their perceived differences between conventional breeding and genetic modification. Read more in Nature Communications Journal. Click here to read USW positions on plant breeding innovation.

California Wheat’s Claudia Carter Interviewed. Claudia Carter, Executive Director of the California Wheat Commission, was recently featured in an episode of the “Regenerative Agriculture Podcast.” Originally from Ecuador, Claudia leads research around the marketability of California wheat and helps to develop and maintain domestic and international markets for this commodity. She describes her educational journey in cereal sciences, and her focus on the durum quality parameters that processors need to develop a good pasta. Claudia and the host also discuss biofortification, the process of breeding wheat varieties for a specific nutritional profile. Listen to the podcast here.

Wheat All About It! Speaking of podcasts, Washington Grain Commission (WGC) publishes a very informative weekly podcast all about wheat and the wheat industry in the Pacific Northwest. Click here to listen to the latest episodes. You may also subscribe to “Wheat All About It!” on iTunes and other podcast apps like Stitcher, Pocket Cast, Overcast and Radio FM, or download multiple episodes from the WGC website at wagrains.org.

EPA Evaluation of Glyphosate. In January 2020, after receiving and considering public comments on the glyphosate proposed interim decision, the United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) released the interim decision for registration review. As part of this action, EPA continues to find that there are no risks of concern to human health when glyphosate is used in accordance with its current label. EPA also found that glyphosate is unlikely to be a human carcinogen. EPA is requiring management measures to help farmers target pesticide sprays to intended pests, protect pollinators, and reduce the problem of weeds becoming resistant to glyphosate. Read more here.

U.S. Flour Miller Invests in Wheat Quality. Grain Craft, the largest U.S. independent flour miller, has increased its commitment to improving wheat quality with another gift to the Kansas Wheat Commission Research Foundation (KWCRF). The gift will build upon previous support of research to improve wheat quality and yield through proper fertility management. “Preliminary results from the research indicate there is a strong correlation between proper fertility management of wheat by farmers and not only the quantity, but quality of the protein produced,” according to Dr. Romulo Lollato, Wheat Production Extension Specialist at Kansas State University in Manhattan. Read more here.

Subscribe to USW Reports. USW publishes a variety of reports and content that are available to subscribe to, including a bi-weekly newsletter highlighting recent Wheat Letter blog posts, the weekly Price Report and the weekly Harvest Report (available May to October). Subscribe here.

Follow USW Online. Visit our page at https://www.facebook.com/uswheat for the latest updates, photos and discussions of what is going on in the world of wheat. Also, find breaking news on Twitter at https://twitter.com/uswheatassoc and video stories on Vimeo at https://vimeo.com/uswheatassociates.

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Market Offers Soft Red Winter Buying Opportunity

By Claire Hutchins, USW Market Analyst

Soft red winter (SRW) export prices had been climbing steadily since the end of the 2019 harvest on reduced production, tight ending stocks and stable domestic and overseas demand. Then after Jan. 24, 2020, export basis and FOB prices dipped, offering an opportunity for SRW importers to lock in a lower price through the end of marketing year 2019/20.

From mid-July 2019 to mid-January 2020, SRW export basis rose 65 percent from $0.85 per bushel (/bu) to $1.40/bu, 33 percent higher than last year at this time and 47 percent higher than the 5-year average.

However, between Jan. 24 and Jan. 31, 2020, a dip in export demand pressured SRW export basis for the first time since early September. SRW export basis fell 7 percent to $1.30/bu, the lowest since early December 2019. Lower basis and softer futures prices also pressured SRW FOB values 4 percent between Jan. 24 and Jan. 31 from $262/MT to $251/MT.

Market watchers, including those at U.S. Wheat Associates (USW), believe this price decline is a good buying signal. They believe SRW export basis will remain high through the end of 2019/20 based on still tightening exportable supplies and stable demand from overseas customers. Members from the grain trade also believe SRW export basis will be higher than average through the 2020/21 harvest based on significantly reduced beginning stocks year-over-year and substantial reductions in SRW planted area in states tributary to the Mississippi River, where a significant amount of SRW is transported from the countryside to export facilities in the Gulf.

Specifically, farmers reduced SRW planted area for harvest in 2019 due to overly wet field fields in the fall of 2018 and unprofitable prices. SRW production fell 17 percent from last year to 6.50 million metric tons (MMT), the lowest since 2010/11. USDA expects SRW ending stocks at the end of 2019/20 to fall 49 percent to 2.88 MMT, the lowest in 10 years. USDA predicts SRW exports will total 2.72 MMT, in line with the 5-year average.

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USMCA Moving Closer to Reality

By Dalton Henry, USW Vice President of Policy

The U.S., Mexico, Canada Agreement (USMCA) is moving steadily, if somewhat slowly, to becoming an implemented trade treaty. Mexico’s government first ratified the agreement in June 2019. At the request of the U.S. House of Representatives, the agreement was revised and signed again by all three countries in December 2019, after which Mexico’s government voted to ratify the revised agreement.  President Trump signed the U.S. implementing language for the agreement in a widely attended ceremony on January 29, 2020. And now, ratification is being considered by Canada’s parliament, a process many trade watchers expect to run through March 2020 at least.

The latest step puts us a mere hop, skip and a jump from having a new trade agreement in place with two of the U.S. agriculture’s largest customers. Most importantly to wheat industry stakeholders, the new agreement moves us past the bold threats of withdrawal from NAFTA and fully protects access to U.S. wheat on a duty-free basis for Mexican customers, modernizes sanitary and phytosanitary (SPS) provisions and removes the largest remaining barrier (eligibility for grades) for U.S. producers who want to sell wheat to Canadian elevators.

On that final point, USMCA assures that U.S. wheat sold in Canada is not automatically graded as feed. It is one of the more significant new provisions in the USMCA. President Trump specifically mentioned it in his remarks at the White House signing ceremony. Western Canadian wheat growers support it.

Under the agreement, U.S. farmers interested in taking wheat across the border will still have to verify that wheat is one of the varieties registered in Canada. But it is worth celebrating that farmers near the Canadian border will have additional local outlets for grain, potential market arbitrage opportunities and a basic fairness between growers on either side of the border. These grain grading changes will give Canada a reprieve from the threat of non-compliance with the WTO’s “national treatment” standard and forces legislative changes that the Canadian government had promised to make for the better part of a decade (but never actually put into place).

Necessary changes in domestic regulations across all three countries are still needed. Those changes will be followed by a 60-day monitoring period to verify the changes are being implemented. An exchange of letters between the three countries is the seal for the deal. Wheat growers and buyers in USMCA – the new NAFTA – are very much looking forward to that day.

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Celebrating Farmer Commitment and Global Partnerships in USW’s 40th Year

By Steve Mercer, USW Vice President of Communications

On January 12, 1980, wheat farmer leaders with Great Plains Wheat and Western Wheat Associates officially merged to become one organization, U.S. Wheat Associates (USW), to focus on building overseas demand for U.S. wheat.

To mark its 40-year anniversary in 2020, USW has launched an outreach effort to recognize and celebrate the people who produce the wheat and their enduring partnerships with the U.S. Department of Agriculture, wheat buyers and wheat food processors around the world.

This anniversary is a platform for us to reinforce our authentic story—that behind the world’s most reliable supply of wheat are the world’s most dependable people. That despite the different roles or distances, all of the people in our story share an unspoken connection through USW and through our shared values of growth, hard work and family.

So, throughout this year, in online media (#USWturns40), new marketing materials and face to face with overseas wheat buyers, we are going to talk about the legacy of commitment from farmers and the important partnerships that are a unique and valuable part of importing U.S. wheat.”

The primary component of the USW campaign is a new page on www.uswheat.org titled “Our Story.” The page includes historical background, and profiles of U.S. wheat farm families and overseas customers. USW also produced a new video that highlights the value created by the entire U.S. wheat export supply system and the service the USW organization offers to flour millers and wheat food processors around the world.

 

 

A significant element of the campaign will describe how previous generations of U.S. farm families organized, invested their time, talent and treasure and reached out to the federal government to build overseas markets for their wheat.

Many of the millers and food processors USW works with overseas are also family-owned and going through the same generational changes as U.S. farm families. That is one reason why we will emphasize past and present connections between our farmers and customers in those stories, through our Wheat Letter blog and in Facebook and Twitter posts.

USW is truly built around its partnerships at home and abroad.

Farmers represented by 17 state wheat commissions work closely with USDA’s Foreign Agricultural Service through our organization to demonstrate the need for export market development support. Those organizations and the rest of the efficient U.S. supply chain share in the challenges and rewards of wheat trade. The campaign will also demonstrate how the world’s wheat buyers, millers and food processors view their partnership with our organization.

This legacy and those partnerships provide advantages USW believes no other wheat exporting country can provide. They help supply the highest quality wheat for almost every customer need. Pricing is set by market conditions and remains transparent to the buyers. U.S. wheat is backed by trusted third-party certification by the Federal Grain Inspection Service. USW representatives and technical service experts provide unmatched service before and after the sale. Together, these advantages build differential value for our customers.

In many ways, this story built and sustains the culture of the USW organization and it underpins what the U.S. wheat “brand” stands for in the world wheat marketplace.

USW invites U.S. wheat farmers, our state wheat commission members and our overseas customers to visit https://ourstory.uswheat.org/ often and to share their own stories as we continue to update content throughout 2020.

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Cheers to the Long and Beneficial Relationship with Japan

Japan’s Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries (MAFF), its grain trade, flour millers and wheat food processors have developed a strong trust in the quality and consistency of U.S. wheat and the entire U.S. wheat supply system. It is a trust that has weathered many challenges, including concerns about U.S. wheat competitiveness under the multilateral CPTPP agreement. Working together, however, the partners played important parts in successful negotiations of the U.S.-Japan trade agreement that on Jan. 1, 2020, put effective U.S. wheat import tariffs back on equal footing with Canadian and Australian wheat.

To commemorate the successful conclusion of the trade negotiations, and to renew its connection with the U.S. wheat industry, MAFF recently brought a team of officials to Portland, Ore., to meet with state wheat commissions and the grain trade. Mr. Yusaku Hirakata, Director-General for Crop Production, in MAFF’s Crop Production Bureau headed the delegation. The Director of the Oregon Department of Agriculture Alexis Taylor, the Oregon Wheat Commission, Washington Grain Commission, Wheat Marketing Center and U.S. Wheat Associates (USW) welcomed the delegation at a reception held at the Wheat Marketing Center Jan. 23, 2020.

Mr. Yusaku Hirakata, MAFF, and Darren Padget, USW.

We want to share remarks and a toast to the MAFF delegation by USW Vice Chairman Darren Padget, a wheat farmer from Grass Valley, Ore.

“It is a great privilege and honor to welcome our friends from MAFF and other distinguished guests to this evening’s reception.

“I would like to first acknowledge the long relationship between the United States wheat industry and Japan that began in 1949 when the Oregon Wheat Growers League organized a trade delegation to your country. This relationship is a success story that is worthy of being repeated again and again. For me and other farmers, it has now spanned four generations. And my father, my son and I are proud to be part of this partnership today. 

“In September, USW Chairman Doug Goyings and I had the honor of being invited to attend the signing of the bilateral trade agreement between Japan and the United States in New Your City. It is a day that will remain in my memory forever. We had the opportunity to meet Japan’s Prime Minister Shinzō Abe, a most gracious individual. The agreement he and President Trump signed that day will keep U.S. wheat on a level playing field with Australia and Canada…a result that all of us here have worked hard to help achieve.

“In 2020, our organization is celebrating its fortieth year operating as U.S. Wheat Associates. USW and its member farmers now look forward to forty more years serving the Japanese people.

“Thank you for the opportunity to address you as representatives of this crucial market. Now I toast to the continuation of our long trade relationship with Japan…Kanpai!”

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An Invitation to a Stronger Relationship with Mexico’s Milling and Wheat Foods Industries

By Vince Peterson, USW President

Today, I had the unique privilege to accept an invitation to the White House to represent U.S. wheat farmers, our state wheat commission members and U.S. Wheat Associates (USW) as President Donald Trump signs implementing legislation for the U.S.-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA) into U.S. law (that’s my viewpoint at the ceremony in the picture above).

While this invitation came addressed to me, it is only because I occupy a specific desk at USW with the consent of our U.S. farmer board of directors. I sincerely hope that everyone associated with our organization feels the same pride I do to witness this important national event because everyone put in a tremendous amount of work to help bring it about.

The trade agreement USMCA will replace (after Canada’s parliament approves it and implementing changes are made, as we are sure will happen) opened mutually beneficial trade between U.S. wheat farmers and Mexico’s flour millers and wheat food industry. Under the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA), USW focused on helping Mexico’s buyers, millers and food processors solve problems or increase their business opportunities with U.S. wheat classes—as it does with all U.S. wheat importing customers. This effort, supported by wheat farmers and the partnership with USDA’s Foreign Agricultural Service, has fostered a productive relationship that has endured through many challenges.

So, when the Trump Administration announced in 2017 it intended to renegotiate NAFTA, USW quickly engaged in the process on many levels to advocate for continued duty-free wheat trade and other improvements in the agreement.

For example, I invited José Luis Fuente, President of the Mexican Millers Association (CANIMOLT), to address the USW board of directors meeting in October 2017. Sr. Fuente had been appointed as an advisor to the Mexican Minister of Agriculture in the negotiations. He made a passionate plea for USW to work together toward resolving the trade agreement as soon as possible. In addition, our former Vice President of Policy Ben Conner was granted status as an advisor to the U.S. Trade Representative and was one of only a few agricultural industry representatives who participated in side-briefings at almost all the official negotiating sessions. Vice President of Communications Steve Mercer, his team and our friends at the National Association of Wheat Growers (NAWG) published an on-going series of press statements, social media posts, comments and fact sheets supporting our positions. As the U.S. Congress considered the agreement, NAWG’s staff and its dedicated farmer officers and directors continued to advocate for its passage.

Regional Vice President Mitch Skalicky and our staff in Mexico City steadfastly maintained contact with Sr. Fuente and our other customers. Then, last year at a USW marketing conference in Mexico, USW and Mexican millers renewed our agreement to work together toward approval of the USMCA. We also made it very clear that our commitment to serving their industries was among our most important goals.

“We have 14 farmers here representing 13 different state wheat commissions, and U.S. Wheat Associates staff from 3 offices here to show you that we take your business seriously,” Past Chairman Chris Kolstad told the millers. Those farmers, state commission members and USW, he added, “are all united in our desire to earn your full trust in the United States as your primary source of imported wheat.”

After I received the White House invitation to the USMCA signing ceremony, I forwarded a copy to Sr. Fuente with a note of thanks and congratulations to him and CANIMOLT members for their work and the collaborative effort toward a favorable agreement for each of us.

“We congratulate U.S. Wheat Associates on behalf of the Mexican millers for all of the collaborative work, negotiations, and achievements attained (in negotiating the new USMCA),” Sr. Fuente responded to Mitch Skalicky and me. “I am very happy and proud to have been part of the effort and above all to confirm the excellent relations and friendship that exists between the Mexican milling industry and the U.S wheat industry.”

That is a humbling and generous confirmation that our relationship stayed strong throughout the negotiations. USW will continue to work hard to make our partnership even stronger in the future.

José Luis Fuente, President of CANIMOLT, addresses the USW Mexican Wheat Trade Conference in June 2019.

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Wheat Industry News

Recent news and highlights from around the wheat industry.

Speaking of Wheat: “The last time that U.S. farmers planted so few acres with winter wheat, William Howard Taft was president and the opening salvos of World War I were still five years away.” – Ryan Dezember, Wall Street Journal Reporter, from his article Jan. 17, 2020.

USMCA Pact Moves to Pres. Trump. Senate Finance Committee chairman Chuck Grassley (R., Iowa), as president pro tempore of the Senate, led a ceremony Jan. 22, 2020, to sign the U.S.-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA) Implementation Act. Grassley’s signing of the legislation is the final step before it goes to President Donald Trump for his signature within 10 days. Canada has still not ratified the measure, which its parliament must do before the agreement enters into force, which is expected to happen within the next two months.

Mid-Year U.S. Commercial Sales Update. As of Jan. 2, 2010, total U.S. export sales for marketing year 2019/20 (June to May) of 18.9 million metric tons (MMT) are 6 percent ahead of sales at the same time in 2018/19. Hard red winter (HRW) and durum sales are both significantly ahead of last year’s pace. USDA projects total 2019/20 exports will hit 26.5 MMT (973 million bushels) which, if realized, would be 4 percent greater than 2018/19 and 7 percent more than the 5-year average. USW believes the high quality and competitive pricing for select U.S. wheat classes and other factors support USDA’s estimate. Export sales to date are 71 percent of USDA’s total projected U.S. exports of 26.5 MMT. Commercial sales to 11 of the top 20 markets for U.S. wheat are ahead of last year. Read the latest Commercial Sales report here.

Farmers Follow the Wheat. Intermountain Farm & Ranch reported that group of Idaho wheat farmers and industry representatives visited Portland, Ore., recently on a tour designed to give them a better understanding of the region’s wheat industry and the importance of the Columbia-Snake River system. Portland is the third largest grain export gateway in the world and more than 50 percent of U.S. wheat that is exported travels through the port. Every January, the Idaho Wheat Commission takes two growers from each of five districts in Idaho, and a handful of industry representatives on similar tours. Photo above, Copyright Intermountain Farm & Ranch. Read more online.

Condolences. U.S. Wheat Associates (USW) was sad to receive the news of Mr. Poyen Policarpio’s passing on Jan. 12, 2020. Mr. Policarpio for many years led Pure Foods and, through its acquisition, served as President of San Miguel Flour Milling in the Philippines. Always with a smile and warm, friendly outlook, Mr. Policarpio was a good friend to USW and our extended U.S. wheat family. We offer our sincere sympathy to the Policarpio family and to his many friends and colleagues.

In 2012 at an event in Manila celebrating USW’s 50 years with an office in the Philippines, Mr. Poyen Policarpio of San Miguel Flour Mills accepted this recognition from USW and U.S. wheat farmers.

Subscribe to USW Reports. USW publishes a variety of reports and content that are available to subscribe to, including a bi-weekly newsletter highlighting recent Wheat Letter blog posts, the weekly Price Report and the weekly Harvest Report (available May to October). Subscribe here.

Follow USW Online. Visit our page at https://www.facebook.com/uswheat for the latest updates, photos and discussions of what is going on in the world of wheat. Also, find breaking news on Twitter at https://www.twitter.com/uswheatassoc and video stories at https://www.youtube.com/uswheatassociates.

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ATP Funding Supports Technical Service and Staff Training in South Asian Markets

The Agricultural Trade Promotion (ATP), administered by USDA’s Foreign Agricultural Service, is intended to help U.S. agricultural exporters develop new markets and help mitigate the adverse effects of other countries’ tariff and non-tariff barriers. One of the ways U.S. Wheat Associates (USW) is applying ATP funds is to expand its ability to conduct technical support to wheat buyers and end users in rapidly growing South Asian markets.

USW has had a long-term effort to help customers improve their products and processes through technical support because inexperience in developing market milling and food production sectors can be a constraint to demand for U.S. wheat. In the highly sophisticated wheat food industries in Japan, Korea and other countries, USW’s long-term investment has benefited customers and consumers while establishing strong and consistent export markets for U.S. wheat producers.

USW Baking Consultant Adrian Redondo

In such markets as the Philippines, Vietnam, Indonesia, Malaysia, Myanmar and Thailand, the imported wheat customer base is expanding, and USW saw a need to increase its technical capabilities to match the growth. At the same time, USW knew that would require additional technical staff and needed to prepare for natural transitions for some senior technical experts.

The addition of ATP funding gave USW the opportunity to add a new Bakery Technician position to work with customers across the South Asian region. Mr. Adrian Redondo, an experienced food technologist and account manager, joined USW in June 2019. He is training with his experienced colleagues and building customer contacts through 2021 when the senior USW bakery consultant based in the Philippines plans to retire. Without additional ATP funding, USW would have had to fund a new technician position from a more limited pool of resources that would, in effect, cut its ability to fund customer activities.

South Asian imports of U.S. hard red spring (HRS), soft white (SW) and hard red winter (HRW) wheat from family farms in the Pacific Northwest to the Northern Plains have grown from an average of about 3.0 million metric tons (MMT) per year 10 years ago to about 5.0 MMT in 2018/19. Future demand for wheat foods is expected to keep growing in the region.

ATP funding provides a wide range of additional opportunities to continue differentiating U.S. wheat in markets like those in South Asia, with no local wheat production and where increasing incomes and urbanization are driving a rapid expansion of wheat food demand.

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