New transparency in port price reporting of Canadian Western Red Spring Wheat

Since the onset of the commissions, we have assisted in the development of open and transparent price reporting to help improve grain markets for Alberta’s farmers. While initiatives such as the Alberta Wheat Commission’s Price and Data Quotes system (pdqinfo.ca) have led to an improvement in the transparency of domestic pricing in the Canadian market, until recently, there has been limited improvement to meet the demand for transparent port pricing of Canadian wheat. The commissions are pleased to say, however, that as we turned the calendar to a new year, two separate global pricing authorities are now providing daily updates on the value of Canadian Western Red Spring (CWRS) delivered free on board (FOB) to the Port of Vancouver (FOB Vancouver CWRS price).

In early 2021, the Alberta Wheat Commission (AWC) was contacted by two major global pricing firms, U.K. firm Argus Media and S&P Global Platts operating out of the United States, for input and support in the development of an FOB Vancouver CWRS price. AWC helped connect these firms with organizations in both Canada and abroad who could provide regular port pricing indications. AWC also worked to raise global awareness of these pricing reports throughout the development of this initiative. Coinciding with the public release of this information in October 2021, AWC partnered with Argus Media on a joint webinar to showcase the new reporting and provide a global market update report on the shifting demand of global wheat markets.

As global wheat markets are becoming increasingly technical and sophisticated, international firms are looking to access more information specific to Canada than the Minneapolis futures have provided in the past. More detailed and transparent reporting can be expected as a long-term addition to international and national firms’ reports. In assisting in the development of these port pricing reports, AWC is encouraging further market transparency on port pricing that will fulfill the requests from members.

AWC will continue to promote and raise awareness of the new FOB Vancouver CWRS price reports and continue to encourage making more information on wheat pricing at ports available to farmers. At the moment, FOB CWRS Vancouver price reporting is new, and the accessibility of this pricing for farmers is limited. As the port pricing is being provided by for-profit pricing firms, initially it will only be available through their respective subscription services or any promotional activities they choose to provide. However, if this price reporting is incorporated into reporting products or used as a base value for negotiating Canadian grain transactions, the accessibility of this pricing to farmers will increase. It is likely that these price reports will be increasingly incorporated into the day-to-day Canadian grain trade to ensure that wheat farmers are getting the clearest indication of what a global market is willing to pay for the fruits of their labour, high-quality Canadian wheat.

Readers are encouraged to learn more about the new pricing reports by following argusmedia.com and spglobal.com.