Soft White Archives - Page 3 of 4 - U.S. Wheat Associates

Euromonitor International has predicted that sales of baked goods in the People’s Republic of China will increase 22.5% by 2021. Domestic wheat is less than optimal in flour production and quality for these baked goods, so imports are needed. USDA Foreign Agricultural Service cooperator U.S. Wheat Associates (USW) is using Market Access Program (MAP) and Foreign Market Development (FMD) program funds to meet that demand by helping the Chinese baking industry tackle technical challenges to produce world class baked goods using imported U.S. wheat.

USW applied FMD funds to hire Dr. Ting Liu in September 2016 as Technical Specialist to bolster USW’s technical ability to demonstrate U.S. wheat performance qualities for new baked goods. One of Dr. Liu’s first projects, supported by MAP funds, was to help the Sino American Baking School (SABS) in Guangdong Province offer consultation to baking companies that have some experience using flour made from U.S. wheat. The long-term goal is to help them expand new specialty items such as sourdough, frozen dough and whole grain products. In marketing year 2016/17, three Chinese companies requested the technical assistance from senior specialists currently teaching at, or recently retired from, SABS. USW and SABS are strongly associated with excellent instruction and product development, so USW’s support is also helping build stronger reputations for both the school and for U.S. wheat.

Growing demand for baked goods and interest in healthy, whole grain products represents good opportunity to increase Chinese demand specifically for high-protein U.S. hard red spring (HRS) wheat. In May 2017, Dr. Liu represented USW at the 2017 Sino-Foreign Whole Grain Industry Development Experts Forum in Shanghai. Joining 22 experts in food processing, nutrition and health, financial investment, policy and marketing, Dr. Liu actively participated in the forum as one of 10 industry guest speakers. Drawing from USW’s activities in several other countries, Dr. Liu’s presentation focused “International Whole Grain Development,” which provided guidelines and references to the development of whole grains products in China.

China’s U.S. wheat imports can swing up or down with government policy decisions. However, total U.S. import volume doubled in 2016/17 to more than 1.6 million metric tons (MMT) compared to almost 880,000 MT in 2015/16. A closer look shows China’s annual import of HRS wheat grown in Minnesota, North Dakota, Montana and South Dakota has steadily increased the past five years from 475,000 MT in 2012/13 to more than 1.1 MMT in 2016/17. That is the second highest volume of HRS imports in the world that year.

December 31, 2017/by Amanda Spoo

To help Colombian wheat buyers find ways to import more U.S. wheat, USDA Foreign Agricultural Service cooperator U.S. Wheat Associates worked closely with USDA and state wheat commissions to organize a visit to observe the quality and logistical advantages of the U.S. wheat supply chain.

Colombia is the largest wheat buyer in the growing South American market. There are several smaller flour mills there that find it difficult and price restrictive to try to purchase U.S. wheat from on their own. USW’s South America regional office saw an opportunity to overcome this constraint by bringing newer members of the purchasing and milling industries together to consider joint purchasing. They organized a trade team of high level executives from five major flour, cookie and pasta companies in Colombia, all traveling for the first time to see the U.S. wheat supply system. In June 2016, the team traveled to North Dakota, Montana and Louisiana to visit country and port elevators, to meet with wheat producers, U.S. pasta and cookie manufacturers and government agencies including the Federal Grain Inspection Service.

This trade service effort, funded by the Market Access Program (MAP), generated several positive results. One of the participants representing Colombia’s largest wheat buyer after observing how the Montana State Grain Laboratory tested feed and grain for the presence of vomitoxin (deoxynivalenol or DON), recommended that the company install the testing equipment at its mill. Now the testing is helping the mill make crucial judgements about the variability in wheat quality. In addition, the participant reports that the visit helped the company get more value from its purchases because its managers now better understand their options in U.S. wheat supply logistics.

Following the trade team visit, four of the companies established a wheat purchasing pool for the first time. Within six months, the pool purchased 220,000 MT of hard red winter (HRW) and soft red winter (SRW). U.S. wheat purchases by these companies increased 19 percent compared to the same period in 2015. One of the companies that attended the trade mission informed USW that it plans to purchase 13 percent more U.S. wheat in 2016/17 and 2017/18, valued at $3.0 million because of the advantages from pool buying. That miller also said it will change its formula for bread flour by blending more imported U.S. HRW in place of Canadian spring wheat because the ratio of quality to price is greater because it can pool buy U.S. wheat.

In 2016/17, total U.S. wheat exports to Colombia for marketing year 2016/17 exceeded 858,000 metric tons, which is more than 27 percent more than in 2015/16. That represents sales benefitting farmers in the southern and central Plains and the U.S. wheat supply chain in the Gulf of Mexico and Pacific Northwest.

December 31, 2017/by Amanda Spoo

Just as the 2016 wheat harvest was starting, a farmer in Washington state discovered and reported rogue wheat plants genetically modified to be “Roundup Ready” in a fallow field on his farm. Yet U.S. Wheat Associates (USW) helped avert a potentially devastating market disruption by taking quick steps to work with the USDA Foreign Agricultural Service and other USDA agencies, overseas wheat buyers and state wheat commissions.

U.S. wheat imports by Japan, Korea and Taiwan represent an annual average of about 20 percent of total U.S. wheat exports, valued at more than $1 billion even with very low prices. Most consumers in those countries oppose food produced from genetically modified crops, so the stakes could hardly be higher.

Once informed of the situation, USW began working on the issue closely with all the stakeholders involved, including its in-country offices and FAS posts, the Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS), the U.S. grain trade and Monsanto. APHIS took prompt and thorough action to identify the regulated wheat event in the suspect plants and kept our organizations, as well as government officials in several key overseas markets, informed as it worked to find the facts. In turn, USW shared information about the situation with the domestic grain trade and downstream customer organizations, as well as overseas grain trade and buyers in Japan, Korea and Taiwan.

Out of an abundance of caution, Japan’s Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries (MAFF) suspended new purchases of U.S. western white wheat (soft white and 20 percent club wheat) from the Pacific Northwest (PNW) and Korea’s Ministry of Food and Drug Safety (MFDS) suspended all new U.S. wheat imports until their officials could validate and start using a customized version of a new detection assay provided quickly by Monsanto and APHIS.

Testing ultimately confirmed that U.S. wheat remained safe and reliable, adding confidence that nothing had changed the U.S. wheat supply chain’s ability to deliver wheat that matches every customer’s specifications. Because USW and state wheat commissions also had a bank of trust with customers in Japan, Korea and Taiwan, and because Monsanto and APHIS acted so quickly and calmly, both countries reopened their markets to all U.S. wheat imports within eight weeks.

Without the goodwill earned over decades from USW trade and technical service and business relationships funded by the Market Access Program (MAP) and the Foreign Market Development (FMD) program, wheat farmers in Washington, Oregon, Idaho and other states would be isolated in their ability to work through such a market disruption. Instead of export losses, total sales to the North Asian countries in marketing year 2016/17 increased 12 percent compared to 2015/16 with a total value of $1.2 billion.

December 31, 2017/by Amanda Spoo

U.S. Wheat Associates (USW) represents the interests of U.S. wheat farmers in international markets. As it does with all U.S. wheat importing customers, USW focuses on helping Mexico’s buyers, millers and food processors solve problems or increase their business opportunities with U.S. wheat classes. This effort, supported by wheat farmers and the partnership with the Market Access Program (MAP) and Foreign Market Development (FMD) program, has fostered a productive relationship that has endured for decades through many challenges. More than 22 years of duty free access to the Mexican market under the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) certainly helped build the relationship.

Mexico is one of the largest U.S. wheat buyers in the world, importing just under 3.0 million metric tons (MMT) on average going back many years. Not in marketing year 2016/17, however. As of May 18, 2017, Mexico’s flour millers had imported more than 3.3 MMT of U.S. wheat, which is more than any other country. That volume is up 39 percent over last year at the same time.

Breaking down their purchases by class, flour millers in Mexico generate strong demand for U.S. hard red winter (HRW) wheat. In 2015/16, they were the leading HRW importers and are taking advantage of the favorable prices and high quality of the 2016/17 HRW crop. At a current volume of about 2.0 MMT, they have imported 79 percent more HRW this year and again lead buyers of that class. The association representing Mexican flour millers says a rising number of industrial bakeries, along with traditional artisanal bakeries, account for about 70 percent of the country’s wheat consumption. That puts HRW producers in a good position to meet that demand. Being closer to HRW production and having a highly functioning ability to import a large share of HRW directly via rail and duty free from the Plains states is an advantage for Mexico’s buyers.

In addition, Mexico is home to Bimbo, the world’s largest baked goods company, and an increasing number of cookie and cracker companies. The functional properties of U.S. soft red winter wheat (SRW) is well suited to the production of cookies, crackers and pastries, and serves as an excellent blending wheat. Millers supplying this growing market imported an average of 1.2 MMT of SRW between 2011/12 and 2015/16. With imports from the Gulf of more than 1.0 MMT of SRW in 2016/17, Mexico was the top buyer of SRW again. USW and state wheat commissions from the PNW are also helping demonstrate how millers and bakers can reduce input costs by using U.S. soft white (SW) as a blending wheat for specialty flour products.

The successful story of how U.S. wheat farmers and their customers in Mexico have worked together in a mutually beneficial way and, for now, U.S. wheat continues to flow to our customers in Mexico.

December 31, 2017/by Amanda Spoo

In the early 1960s, U.S. wheat farmers reached out through Western Wheat Associates (WWA) to build new partnerships with Taiwan. After many visits, WWA opened an office in Taipei in 1966. With cooperation, forward-thinking and much success over the years and with support from U.S. wheat farmers and USDA Foreign Agricultural Service export market development programs, USW has served Taiwan’s flour milling, technical education and wheat foods organizations for 50 years.

The Taiwan Flour Mills Association (TFMA) and USW forged a uniquely productive relationship. U.S. wheat farmers helped TFMA create the Taiwan Wheat Food Promotion Council, which established a baking school in Taipei. As U.S. wheat farmers continued to provide the highest quality wheat, USW continued to provide service and support that helped TFMA promote wholesome, nutritious wheat foods to Taiwan’s consumers. This trusted relationship still allows TFMA to confidently import almost all its wheat from the United States. Taiwan is on average the sixth largest market for U.S. wheat. In each of the past three marketing years, Taiwan’s flour millers purchased about 1.0 million metric tons of U.S. hard red spring (HRS), hard red winter (HRW) and soft white (SW) wheat currently valued at about $250 million.

The early spirit of cooperation with millers extended to building a vital wheat foods industry. Training at the baking school set the standards for an industry that wanted to produce the finest quality wheat food in the world. When millers and bakers raised the money to expand in 1984, the school became the China Wheat (now Grains) Products Research and Development Institute with an added focus on developing new wheat foods and demand continued to grow.

Members of the Taipei Bakery Association (TBA) and bakers across the country have always produced consumer goods of the highest quality. With a permanent office in Taipei, U.S. wheat farmers quickly reached out to TBA to join TFMA and educational leaders in developing and promoting healthy bakery products. Together they sponsored baking courses and contests, consumer outreach, school lunch programs, supported by trade service and technical support from USW.

The ultimate reward for so many years of hard work can now be measured on an international scale. Taiwan’s industry took the world by surprise by sending a team for the first time to the prestigious World Bakery Cup in 2008 that earned a bronze medal. Another bronze followed in 2012 and in 2016, Taiwan’s baking team won a silver medal. On a more practical level, consumption of wheat foods in Taiwan has now surpassed that of rice, a remarkable achievement reflecting the power of cooperation.

December 31, 2016/by Amanda Spoo

With funding from several state wheat checkoff programs and USDA Foreign Agricultural Service export market development programs, U.S. Wheat Associates (USW) is helping new flour millers learn how to get the wheat they need from U.S. farmers, a strategy that has built a dominant market share in this growing Southeast Asian market.

USW has for more than 50 years helped Philippine flour millers use sophisticated purchase specifications that increase value and enable the millers to import five classes of U.S. wheat. However, the industry is undergoing a generational transfer of leadership to younger family members or staff. Some knowledge gets passed down but this transition still requires significant training to assure new market participants can navigate the evolving international trading environment.

USW is addressing this transition through trade team visits to observe the U.S. wheat production and marketing systems, workshops on how to write the best U.S. wheat tenders and information on the quality and functionalities for every crop. These activities, funded by the Market Access Program (MAP) and the Foreign Market Development (FMD) program, help assure the next generation of decision-makers are familiar with the U.S. marketing system and the advantages of U.S. wheat classes in milling and end-product performance. The activities also prepare the industry for key quality concerns and opportunities in the current crop, helping them revise their specifications appropriately to maximize the value of the wheat they receive.

For example, in August 2015, USW sponsored a U.S. visit for new managers at Monde Nissin and Atlantic Milling. They learned that hard red spring (HRS) basis was at historic lows and low protein soft white (SW) stocks were very tight. As a result, these mills accelerated their purchasing pace and bought 110,000 metric tons (MT) of U.S. wheat sending substantial revenue back to the U.S. supply chain and farmers in the Pacific Northwest, Montana, North Dakota and South Dakota. This early purchase of U.S. wheat pre-empted the risk that both mills would consider purchasing lower priced spring wheat from Canada.

In October 2015, during a USW contracting workshop, market leading flour miller San Miguel used the information to revise confusing specifications in their contract language that helped reduce their import cost. This led them to make their first hard red winter (HRW) purchase in recent history. It is the fourth year in a row that San Miguel bought U.S. milling wheat exclusively, maintaining U.S. wheat as the quality standard in the Philippine market. In turn, this further reduces the chance that other mills may consider importing from other origins.

In marketing year 2015/16 (June to May), Philippine millers imported more U.S. HRS and SW wheat than any other country in the world. Its total imports of 2.164 million metric tons of U.S. wheat in 2015/16 ranks the Philippines at third among all countries. This represents more than 90 percent of total Philippine milling wheat imports and a substantial estimated return to the U.S. wheat supply chain.

December 31, 2016/by Amanda Spoo

The emergence of Russia as a very competitive wheat exporting country has dramatically changed the Egyptian market opportunity for U.S. wheat farmers. Egypt still imports more wheat than any other country, but for several years Egypt’s government purchasing agency has been able to import Russian wheat and wheat from other nearby exporters at FOB costs that have been as much as $50 per metric ton cheaper than U.S. wheat on top of a freight advantage. Most Russian wheat is imported for use in Egypt’s subsidized baladi bread program.

USDA Foreign Agricultural Service cooperator U.S. Wheat Associates (USW) recognizes these challenges and has shifted Foreign Market Development (FMD) and Market Access Program (MAP) funding from staff and activities in Egypt to other regions and countries that offer better opportunity for U.S. wheat export sales. However, USW has identified an emerging high-value market in cookies, crackers and cakes, as well as other products like pasta, in Egypt that is served by private importers, mills and processors. While such products are affordable for many Egyptian consumers, they return higher margins to the supply chain and they require high quality flour and offer a new opportunity for U.S. wheat.

In marketing year 20115/16 (June to May), for example, Badawi Group contacted the USW office in Cairo to discuss their plans to introduce a new line of branded pasta products. Badawi is the largest tea company in Egypt and wanted to extend a respected, premium reputation into the growing pasta market.

USW Regional Technical Specialist Peter Lloyd traveled from Casablanca, Morocco, to meet with Badawi managers. While durum wheat is the premier source of semolina for pasta, flour from other wheat classes can be used effectively depending on cost and consumer preferences. After reviewing Badawi’s product concepts, Lloyd recommended the company should consider using high protein U.S. hard red spring (HRS) wheat as its primary pasta ingredient.

Next, USW Regional Director Ian Flagg and Marketing Consultant Nihal Habib reviewed how Badawi could best execute a HRS wheat purchase. Following a final discussion, Badawi imported 30,000 metric tons of HRW in 2015/16, the first significant sale of U.S. spring wheat to Egypt in many years. The purchase returned significant revenue to U.S. spring wheat farmers in North Dakota, Montana, South Dakota and Minnesota from a very small investment of MAP and FMD funds. This opportunity would never have materialized if that investment and USW’s ability to serve this prospect were not in place. Moreover, Badawi set a standard for premium tea in Egypt and USW believes it can set another standard for premium pasta, which holds promise for additional HRS sales.

USW is fostering similar opportunities in Egypt through technical support aimed at helping build a preference for U.S. soft red winter and soft white wheat in the emerging cookie, cracker and cake products. The effort shows that USW is making the most efficient use possible of MAP, FMD and U.S. wheat producer funding in response to changing market dynamics.

December 31, 2016/by Amanda Spoo

Perceptions of wheat flour quality can be difficult to change. Korean flour millers, for example, traditionally judge U.S. soft white (SW) wheat quality based on #1 Grade and a very low protein specification. Unfortunately, two years of hot, dry growing conditions in Washington and Oregon severely reduced the low-protein SW supply and spurred a price barrier to sales. Through trade service and technical support funded by the Market Access Program (MAP) and the Foreign Market Development (FMD) program, FAS cooperator U.S. Wheat Associates (USW) was able to show the millers that they could import higher protein SW at a much lower cost and still meet customer demand. In turn, this effort ended a significant decline in imports.

SW wheat is ideal for the cake, cracker and confection products that make up a large part of Korea’s flour consumption. Between marketing years 2013/14 and 2015/16, USW took a multi-tiered approach to maintaining this important market:

Representatives based in Seoul convinced millers to use Solvent Retention Capacity (SRC) analysis, rather than only using protein specifications, to measure SW flour performance.
Working with state wheat commissions, USW support staff in the United States shipped samples of the more abundant higher protein SW to Korea. Technical staff performed the SRC analysis on flour milled from the samples and successfully demonstrated equivalent performance.
The next step was to prove the SRC analysis and higher protein SW flour performance to downstream bakery and confectionery customers in a seminar supervised by USW South Asia Bakery Consultant Roy Chung. The largest commercial bakery in Korea saw the opportunities and purchased an SRC analyzer.
Finally, USW helped large flour millers understand how they could adjust grade and protein tender specifications. Two large millers did change their specifications and tendered for SW with slightly higher protein levels, which helped reduce import costs. The Korean Flour Millers Association also relaxed some of its grade requirements and received a discount of $5 per metric ton from the trade.

In marketing year 2013/14, before the challenge of higher protein levels appeared, Korean millers imported an estimated 731,000 metric tons (MT) of SW worth about $212 million. As the cost of very low protein SW increased, millers cut back on imports while learning about alternatives from USW. Total SW exports fell to about 538,000 MT in 2014/15.

Armed with new information and support from their customers, these millers were able to slightly increase SW imports in 2015/16 to about 565,000 MT, returning value to the U.S. wheat supply chain and farmers in Washington, Oregon and Idaho.

December 31, 2016/by Amanda Spoo

U.S. wheat is seldom the least-cost option for importers, but it has a reputation for quality that adds critical value. Recognizing that quality starts with the seeds farmers sow, USDA Foreign Agricultural Service (FAS) cooperator U.S. Wheat Associates (USW) gathers feedback from its overseas customers that is shared with the scientists who breed new wheat varieties at home.

With partial funding from the Foreign Market Development program, for example, USW and state wheat commissions in Oregon, Washington, North Dakota and Minnesota organized a Wheat Quality Improvement Team (WQIT) of four university wheat breeders to meet with customers in Japan, Korea and Thailand April 18 to 26, 2015.

The breeders heard what wheat buyers, flour millers and wheat food producers like and do not like about U.S. soft white (SW) and hard red spring (HRS) wheat quality. At the same meetings, the breeders informed these customers about their work to improve the quality and yield potential of newly released varieties. This was the fourth WQIT led by USW. In 2004, a similar trip was made to Asia, followed by Latin America in 2009, and Europe and North Africa in 2010.

The team also took part in an Overseas Variety Analysis (OVA) program event at the UFM Baking School in Bangkok, Thailand. Through OVA, USW creates direct comparisons between U.S. varieties and competing wheat supplies. Working with the Wheat Quality Council, USDA’s Agricultural Research Service, state universities and wheat commissions, USW selects new varieties to mill and sent to overseas cooperators in top markets who analyze their quality in end-use projects and compare them to standard control flours.

Feedback from the OVA program and this year’s WQIT will bring results home to the farm. The next step for the WQIT is to apply the feedback and observations to research and wheat breeding programs, as well as share insights with other breeders, wheat producers and invested state wheat commissions. The OVA data will be shared with state wheat commissions and the Wheat Quality Council to set quality targets for breeding research and to develop recommended variety lists for farmers.

These activities create a primary basis for continual improvement in U.S. wheat quality that in turn supports import demand each year. USW used the Foreign Market Development program help fund the recent WQIT and the Market Access Program to engage customers and breeders through the OVA program.

December 31, 2015/by Amanda Spoo

While U.S. farmers supply nearly 80 percent of wheat imports into the Caribbean region, some importing countries have traditionally preferred Canadian wheat, including Guyana. However, USDA Foreign Agricultural Service (FAS) cooperator U.S. Wheat Associates (USW) is now displacing Canadian sales there by demonstrating how the characteristics of U.S. wheat offer a higher return to flour millers.

Noting that Canadian Western Red Spring wheat is pre-cleaned at export elevators and has higher moisture content than U.S. wheat, Canadian marketers in the past strongly suggested that flour mills could expand production capacity without cleaning or tempering (adding water at the mill). In fact, by adding water to an optimum level for milling, U.S. wheat allows the mills to condition their grist to an ideal moisture that allows them to increase their flour yields and profitability.

Using Market Access Program (MAP) and Foreign Market Development (FMD) funds, USW has long supported the Caribbean Millers Association and first started challenging the Canadian wheat position in discussions with members of the association. Then, following a trade servicing visit by USW, a mill in Guyana decided to construct a cleaning house. To support a transition to milling U.S. wheat, USW sent a consultant to the mill who demonstrated how to specify for reduced dockage in U.S. wheat tenders.

As a result, Guyana received its first commercial shipment of 6,800 metric tons (MT) of U.S. wheat in May 2013. The next marketing year, U.S. wheat sales to Guyana reached 20,300 MT, equal to a 50 percent market share. And in marketing year 2014/15, Guyana imported 30,100 MT of U.S. hard red spring (HRS), hard red winter (HRW) and soft white (SW) wheat representing returns that go to the U.S. wheat industry from the Gulf of Mexico back to farms in North Dakota, Oklahoma, Kansas, Washington and Oregon.

December 31, 2015/by Amanda Spoo

Market Development Helps Build Future Demand for U.S. Wheat in China

Trade Service and Visit to the United States Help Increase U.S. Wheat Exports to Colombia

Trust and Partnership Protect Key North Asian Wheat Export Markets in a Crisis

Mexico is a Loyal and Very Important U.S. Wheat Buyer

A Legacy of Cooperation – U.S. Wheat Farmers, FAS and Taiwan’s Milling and Baking Industry

Legacy of Training Sustains Market Leading U.S. Wheat Exports to the Philippines

Positioned for Opportunity in Changing Egyptian Wheat Market

Trade Service, Technical Support Protect Soft White Wheat Exports to Korea

Wheat Quality Improvement Programs Support U.S. Wheat Value Proposition

Technical Assistance Helps Displace Competition in Guyana’s Wheat Market

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