01/31/07 Container shipment of wheat increasing

Farm and Ranch January 31, 2007 While it represents only a small portion of U.S. grain exports, shipments by container versus bulk shipping is growing. According to USDA figures, just a few years ago total U.S. grain exports by container were about 100-thousand metric tons. By 2005 that had grown to one million tons and by 2006 to two million tons. Most of the grain exports by container are soybeans, but Glen Squires of the Washington Wheat Commission says wheat shipments have been growing rapidly too, from under 20-thousand metric tons in 2002 to about 115-thousand metric tons this past year. Squires: "So there's about five-thousand containers of wheat going to customers overseas." Squires believes a lot of that wheat is moving out of the Pacific Northwest through Tacoma and Seattle to customers in Asia and the Pacific Rim. Squires: "Buyers are becoming more sophisticated and they are seeing there is a benefit to being able to purchase smaller quantities. More specific wheat to meet their individual needs." The traceability and identity preservation of container shipping may be one way the U.S. wheat industry could deal with customers who only want GMO free wheat should biotech wheat go into commercial production. The Washington Wheat Commission has a brochure on its website to help those interested in container shipping. That's at www.wawheat.com I'm Bob Hoff and that's the Northwest Farm and Ranch Report on the Northwest Ag Information Network.