Prairie farmers will share a pot of $4.53 billion for their wheat and barley from the 2006-07 crop year, up 44 per cent from 2005-06.
The Canadian Wheat Board announced its total earnings for distribution in its annual report, released Friday, calling the combined pool revenue the highest it’s seen in 10 years.
The board posted total pool revenue of $4.95 billion for 2006-07, up from $3.5 billion in 2005-06. Total distributions to farmers include “other” income of $218 million and net interest earnings of $30.6 million, minus $600.2 million in direct costs, $67.6 million in administrative expenses and $2 million for funding of grain industry organizations.
Read Also
Feed Grain Weekly: Seasonal gains expected this spring
Feed grain prices have not yet been affected by rising fuel costs, but will continue to rise nonetheless, said a Lethbridge-based trader.
The CWB handled 15.52 million tonnes of Prairie wheat in 2006-07, up from 11.97 million the previous year. Durum deliveries to the board were down 7.5 per cent from the year earlier, at 3.98 million tonnes.
Designated barley deliveries hit 1.85 million tonnes, up from 1.46 million the previous year. Pool A and B feed barley deliveries both dropped 84 per cent, to 147,500 tonnes and 19,800 tonnes respectively due to increased domestic demand.
Outgoing interim CEO Greg Arason said in a release Friday that the net spreads between CWB sales and values achieved by its competitors in the world wheat and barley market were “impressive,” citing spreads of $6 per tonne for wheat, $7.77 for durum and $13.45 for designated barley.
