Effects of Canadian Grain Industries on Food and Nutrition Circumstances in Japan

Abstract

Listen

Translate article

The relationship between the Canadian grain industries and the food and nutritional situation in Japan was explored. The rice consumption dropped by nearly one-third in Japan while wheat utilization has grown by 25 percent. The livestock production has also grown in Japan raising feed grain requirements by 50 percent. Japan is placed second in the Canadian agricultural export market exceeded only by the United States. Cereals represent more than one-third of Canada's total agricultural exports to Japan. Canadian wheat represents approximately one-quarter of all wheat imports and total supplies in Japan. Grains in Canada are produced in prairie provinces and assembled for shipment to the primary elevators, and then to the terminal elevators for exports. Rail and elevator rationalization and increased throughput of grains through the system resulted in the real cost reduction of moving grains in the past ten years. The Canadian grain marketing system is complicated by a very intricate mixture of government, co-operative and primate enterprise. The Government of Canada, through the Canadian Wheat Board, guarantees an initial price to grain producers and over the crop year provides a stable price to them. The Canadian Grain Commission establishes and enforces grades and standards for grains, and the Canadian grain grading system is recognized second to none in the world. The Canadian grading system consists of named and numbered divisions of quality defmed by minimum standards of specificgrading factors such as test weight, varietal purity, vitreousness, soundness, foreign material, dockage, moisture content and protein content. A highly sophisticated method is used for the determination of protein content; i.e., on-line near infrared reflectance (NIR) technique is applied. Although grade and protein category proportions of Canadian wheat export may chan e from year to year, the majority of the crop qualifies for No. 1 CWRS and most of it contains at least 13.5 percent protein. The international wheat prices ranged from 40 to 50 percent of those of rice for a period from 1960 to 1984 while in 1985 and 1986 the price of wheat increased up to 75-80 percent that of rice. The consumer prices for wheat in Japan for a period from 1982 to 1986 have averaged only 23 percent those of rice to stimulate wheat consumption in Japan. Changes (declined prices) in the level of international wheat rices had not been reflected to either producers or consumers in apan influence of government policy), causing some restriction of the demand for wheat in Japan. The study on producer and consumer subsidy equivalents (CSE) indicated that producer revenue for wheat and barley in Japan are nearly twice as high as they would be in the absence of government intervention (or support) programs. As far as the consumer cost is concerned, trade restriction in Japan seems to have led to an increase of 32 percent and 18 percent in consumer costs for wheat and barley in Japan compared to a free trade situation.