08/06/08 Japanese barley trade team visiting

Farm and Ranch July 6, 2008 A barley trade team arrives in Lewiston, Idaho tomorrow on a trip co-hosted by the Idaho and Washington Barley Commissions and the U.S. Grains Council. Mary Palmer Sullivan with the Washington Grain Alliance says the trade team represents all different sectors of Japan's barley processing industry including feed and food. Sullivan: "They will be looking at the different storage facilities in the area as well looking at the actual crop and meeting with some farmers and elevator managers to discuss this year's crop." Japan is the largest export market for U.S. barley growers and Sullivan says the Japanese have been very loyal customers. Sullivan: "We have had upwards of 60% market share depending on the year. Our main competition is Australia and some EU barley. This year we even see some competition from the Black Sea and even China. We are not sure at this point because the crop is not in the bin. We always have to remind ourselves that the Japanese customer is tried and true and that we need to continue to maintain our working relationship with them on an annual basis." Japan's purchases this past year included two-thousand metric tons of a value-added food barley variety Salute that was contracted for production in the Genesee, Idaho area. I'm Bob Hoff and that's the Northwest Farm and Ranch Report on the Northwest Ag Information Network.