The Canadian Wheat Board (CWB), the sole exporting agency of Canadian wheat and barley, is poised to increase its presence in China by providing updated wheat processing technologies for Chinese mills and food processors.

Adrian Measner, president and chief executive official (CEO) of CWB, expected that its annual wheat sales to China will grow to 3 million to 4 million tons in the next three years.

The CWB sold 1.8 million tons of wheat to China in the 2003-04 crop year and 2.5 million tons of wheat in 2004-05.

"Although we are likely to see a decline in wheat exports to China in this crop year because of a smaller crop in Canada, I still hope the quantity will enjoy a steady growth in the coming years," Measner said.

The CEO recognized that, in the four decades the CWB has been doing business with China, the country has increased its demand for grain products, in particular high-quality products. He said Chinese customers are looking for better quality wheat partly because they use some of this wheat as planting wheat, and expect it to improve the quality of local wheat.

"It (the Chinese market) is different from some other markets, such as some Middle East countries and Latin American countries, which demand medium-quality wheat."

Therefore, the board will continue to focus on quality in China.

"We will sell to China the best quality wheat we can supply," Meanser said.

"Due to strong economic growth and increased demand for premium-quality, wheat-based foods, China is expected to become an even more important market for western Canadian wheat," he added.

Measner said that within four years the organization will sell to China one-third of the nation's barley imports, around 10 percentage points higher than the current level.

In order to increase its sales and market share in China, the CWB and its largest trade partner in China, the China Cereals Oilseeds and Foodstuffs Corporation (COFCO), is planning to set up a training and technical centre in Beijing.

"It will allow us not only to show our products to our customers, but also to demonstrate how the wheat can be used most efficiently," he said.

Chinese users of CWB wheat and barley include Tsingtao Brewery Co Ltd and Yanjing Brewery.

Measner believed the centre, which is scheduled to open in April 2007, will support China's milling and food-processing industry.

Through training, educational seminars, technical exchanges and technical support, the centre will provide Chinese wheat processors with the information they need to make the most of this high-quality product, he said.

The CWB will provide initial funding of US$1 million to establish the centre. Operating costs will be shared between the CWB and COFCO.

(China Daily January 13, 2006)