Market Development Activities Continue, Despite Challenging Export Year and Travel Challenges
By: Erica Olson
Posted: Jun 17 2022
Market Development Activities Continue, Despite Challenging Export Year and Travel Challenges
Export market development hasn’t been easy the past two years. The majority of U.S. wheat customers prioritize face to face contact but in-person meetings came to a halt in 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic. U.S. Wheat Associates (USW), in conjunction with state wheat commissions pivoted quickly and were able to transform many of the regular activities into virtual events. In many cases, the customer outreach was wider, and the same pertinent information was shared, but after more than two years, everyone is ready to get back to normal.
As we roll into the second half of 2022, travel is starting to resume and already there have been in-person activities. Northern Crops Institute - which receives wheat related program funding from North Dakota, Minnesota, Montana and South Dakota state wheat commissions – hosted a training session for USW staff in March and has hosted two wheat related short courses already, with more to come this summer. Trade teams hosted by state wheat commissions will also make a return this summer after a nearly three-year hiatus, a welcome opportunity for producers.
In additional to logistical travel issues, drought across the region in 2021 severely impacted spring wheat and durum production, adversely affecting supplies. While the majority of spring wheat and durum customers are quality driven versus price, the limited supplies and significantly higher prices have resulted in demand rationing, with many customers incorporating other classes or sources of wheat. Exports of spring wheat for 2021-22 reached only about 200 million bushels, down from 268 million the previous year and the lowest in recent years. Many of our top markets in the Asian region backed off their purchases for the year, while exports were higher to the African region and similar to a year ago in Latin and South America.
Exports of durum wheat were also hampered this year due to significantly lower supplies. Total exports were just 10 million bushels as compared to 24 million a year ago. Exports to Italy, the largest durum customer, were under 5 million bushels as the country ate through most of their domestic production to offset lower world supplies. A bright spot this year was the 3 million bushels of durum exports to Morocco, the first in five years.
Despite the recent challenges, NDWC staff and board members strive to continue providing the most up to date information to customers and promote high quality wheat but acknowledge the impacts that the small production year and high prices have had. Both producers and customers look forward to a potentially better crop in 2022 to meet customer needs and help maintain our share in the world marketplace.