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Japanese flour millers tour region's wheat farms [Lewiston Tribune, Idaho](Lewiston Morning Tribune (ID) Via Acquire Media NewsEdge) Sept. 21--GENESEE -- Four leading flour millers from Japan made a first-time visit to the wheat production and marketing operations in the region recently that supply much of the wheat they buy each year. Koji Deguchi, Hideo Kakinuma, Keiji Akatuska and Yoshiyuki Arai met with officials of the Idaho Wheat Commission, Pacific Northwest Farmers Cooperative and the University of Idaho to gain understanding into how the soft white and club wheat they buy from this area are produced. The delegation had never been to the U.S. before, and Deguchi described the vastness of wheat farms he'd seen as "impressive." The Japanese millers "want to get a broad sketch about U.S. grain industries, especially here in this area, and about new crops and conditions," said Wataru Utsunomiya, a representative of U.S. Wheat Associates who accompanied the millers and acted as their English-language interpreter. "They have been good buyers of white wheat for the past 60 years." The U.S.-Japan partnership in wheat began in 1949 when the Oregon Wheat Growers League organized a trade delegation for investigating expanding wheat sales to Japan. That trip resulted in several marketing and education activities, including a "kitchen on wheels" school lunch program that promoted wheat foods to Japanese consumers in rural areas, according to the Idaho Wheat Commission. Today, Japan buys about 129 million bushels of U.S. wheat each year, making it the largest overseas consumer of American-grown wheat. Soft white wheat and club wheat, which are made into bakery products and noodles, make up about 20 percent of all Japanese wheat imports. Contrary to the impression most Americans have that wheat in Japan is used mainly for noodles, Deguchi said bread is the most common wheat product in the Japanese diet. Deguchi studied cake and pastry baking in France in 2003 and said Japanese typically eat both French-style bread and rice at meals. During the meeting at the Pacific Northwest Farmers Cooperative office in Genesee this past week, Sam White, marketing director for the co-op, explained that this year's wheat crop has been disappointing, both in yields and in protein content, which was of crucial interest to the Japanese millers. Utsunomiya emphasized millers want protein content to be no higher than 10.5 percent. "Mainly the weather in June was hotter than normal," White explained. "There was not as much rain until later so plants got stressed and the stress caused the higher protein." Overall, yields were down about 15 percent to 20 percent. Blaine Jacobson, director of the Idaho Wheat Commission, asked whether the higher protein content of this year's crop would cause the Japanese to buy less wheat than in the past. The millers were noncommittal in their response, but Utsunomiya said "homegrown wheat" -- meaning that raised in Japan -- would likely be used to offset the higher protein wheat the country imports from the U.S. this year. Japan also buys wheat from Canada and Australia, making this trade trip of special significance to the Idaho wheat growers' group. "The whole market is going to do what they can to provide good customer service," White said, "but it is going to be a little bit of a struggle. White wheat stocks going into this harvest were tight. Maybe later in the year as sales have happened I think good quality white wheat is going to be harder to find." Following a look at wheat breeding operations at the UI, the Japanese delegation was headed to Portland, Ore., where they were expected to observe wheat export operations and learn how the Wheat Marketing Center is helping customers develop new wheat foods. Hedberg may be contacted at [email protected] or (208) 983-2326. ___ (c)2014 the Lewiston Tribune (Lewiston, Idaho) Visit the Lewiston Tribune (Lewiston, Idaho) at www.lmtribune.com Distributed by MCT Information Services |