Three
executives representing Korean flour milling companies will travel through the
Pacific Northwest Sunday August 7th until Sunday 14th, for a more in-depth look
at crop production and quality of soft white (SW), hard red spring (HRS) and hard
red winter (HRW) wheat. Their visit, which includes stops in Montana,
Washington and Oregon, will give them the opportunity to meet with growers,
breeders and exporters.
“These
milling companies hold purchasing tenders for milling wheat that supply all
eight mills in Korea,” said USW Country Director Chang Yoon Kang, who is
leading the team. “Each of these managers have a key role in making decisions
about wheat origin, class, purchase contract specifications and wheat
procurement policies. It is vital that they receive timely and reliable
information on the crop situation.”
With
funding from USDA’s Foreign Agricultural Service, USW collaborated with the
Montana Wheat & Barley Committee (MWBC), Washington Grain Commission (WGC)
and Oregon Wheat Commission (OWC) to organise and host this trade team.
In
calendar year 2015, South Korea imported 2.37 MMT of wheat, including 1.10 MMT
US SW, HRS and HRW wheat sourced from Pacific Northwest and northern plains
fields. While Korean millers import most of their wheat from the United States,
Canadian spring wheat is also imported to blend with US classes for bread
flour. Australian white wheat is preferred for Korean style noodles, but USW is
working to flank that market by helping its customers introduce whole wheat products
made with flour from US wheat as a healthy noodle choice.
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| Image: Sleepy Claus |
“The
Korean consumer is sophisticated and demands a wide range of high-quality wheat
products that compete effectively with more traditional rice products. Korea
has grown into a very important market for US wheat producers because they buy
our premium wheat classes and are willing to pay more to extract that quality
from our market,” said USW Vice President and West Coast Office Director Steve
Wirsching. “This trade team provides a way for the millers to learn more about
the upcoming harvest so they can do a better job of originating the best
quality we have to offer.”
USW
is the industry’s market development organisation working in more than 100
countries. Its mission is to “develop, maintain, and expand international
markets to enhance the profitability of US wheat producers and their
customers.” USW activities are made possible through producer checkoff dollars
managed by 19 state wheat commissions and cost-share funding provided by USDA’s
Foreign Agricultural Service (FAS).
2016
Korean Crop Survey Trade Team - Members
Mr.
Jong-Hyuk Sung
Manager,
Purchasing Department, Samyang Corp.
Mr.
Nak-Ki Sung
Manager,
Wheat Purchase Team, CJ CheilJedang Corp.
Mr.
Sang-Wong Yong
Purchasing
Manager, Business Department, Daehan Flour Mills Company
Mr.
Chang-Yoon Kang
Country
Director, USW Seoul Office
Mr.
Jin-Young Lee
Marketing/Program
Coordinator, USW Seoul Office
Korean
Millers, Bakers See Value in US Wheat
In
the late 1960s, Western Wheat Associates — one of US Wheat Associates’ legacy
organisations — sponsored the first trade team visit to the United States by
Korean flour millers. Since then, Korea’s wheat flour and food industry has
grown more and more sophisticated and US wheat farmers and the US grain chain
have consistently delivered high quality.
“USW
has cultivated an excellent working relationship with the Korean Flour Millers
Association and the country’s baking industry,” said USW President Alan Tracy.
“We provide detailed information about each class of US wheat every year and
directly support the Korean Baking School, so our customers recognise the value
of our wheat, especially for bread and pastry products — even though we are not
the least-cost supply.”
The
Korean wheat foods market is developing in a way that is similar to the US
market. USW Country Director Chang Yoon Kang said end-product flour
specifications in Korea are becoming more complicated because consumers demand
quality and an increasingly wide range of products. They are also relating food
more and more to long-term health.
As
a result, Korean millers are buying different specifications within a single
class of wheat, instead of blending different classes, to maintain uniform
product quality and reduce production costs. For example, millers can specify
for US origin dark northern spring wheat or northern spring, each at various
protein levels, from US exporters. USW — with funding from USDA Foreign
Agricultural Service programs and support from state wheat commissions — gives
the millers the information they need to best write their tenders.
USW
is also adapting marketing strategies to match food and health trends. For
example, USW has actively fostered an increasing interest in whole wheat foods
by arranging in-country whole wheat baking seminars and other production
courses, including at the Wheat Marketing Centre in Portland, OR. These
activities provide a positive environment in which to demonstrate the superior
qualities of US hard bread wheat classes and SW wheat in Korea’s emerging whole
wheat product market.
Read more HERE.
The Global Miller
This blog is maintained by The Global Miller staff and is supported by the magazine GFMT
which is published by Perendale Publishers Limited.
For additional daily news from milling around the world: global-milling.com
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