U.S. and Canadian officials met on May 24, 2001, for grain trade consultations as provided for under the Record of Understanding and Action Plan agreed to between Canada and the United States. Since January 1999, the two sides meet quarterly to exchange information on grain market developments and prospects.

The consultations, as set out in the Action Plan, provide an opportunity for an open and useful discussion on a wide range of grain trade related topics. Officials reviewed the global market situation, including bilateral grain trade flows, projections for the current year, current issues of concern and discussed a number of other measures that could affect trade. Each participant’s projections are based on current and anticipated market conditions and may be revised as markets evolve.

With respect to bilateral trade, projections indicate that 2000/01 cross-border grain trade is likely to remain relatively unchanged from the previous year. Canadian wheat shipments are projected to be little changed from the 1999/2000 level with a slight rise in durum exports from the past year due to crop quality considerations from the 2000 U.S. crop. Barley exports, mainly malting quality, are also forecast to stabilize near the 1999/2000 level.

U.S. corn exports to Canada are expected to increase significantly, particularly to eastern Canada, while wheat exports are increased into Ontario because of the fusarium damaged Canadian 2000 crop (tables attached*). The projections which were discussed are each side’s views of how markets are likely to evolve and are not commitments.

Data in this report is available in both Adobe Acrobat and Lotus 123 formats. You may need to Get the Adobe Acrobat Reader.

* Canadian production and export projections were provided by Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada and U.S. production and export projections were provided by the USDA's Foreign Agricultural Service.

Last modified: Thursday, November 13, 2003