Demand for wheat worldwide has outpaced production several times in the last 10 years, the new president and CEO of U.S. Wheat Associates says.<\/p>\n
Mike Spier took over the position July 1 from Vince Peterson, who retired. Spier was most recently vice president of overseas operations for U.S. Wheat, the overseas marketing arm for the industry.<\/p>\n
Spier expects that growing wheat consumption to continue.<\/p>\n
\u201cRight now (the U.S.) is competitive, and our goal is to continue to grow that and expand our market share,\u201d Spier told Capital Press during a phone interview July 24. \u201cEvery bushel of wheat that is exported helps the farmer\u2019s profitability.\u201d<\/p>\n
But there\u2019s also been an increase in global competition, particularly from Black Sea and Australian exporters in the last five years.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe\u2019re in a good position in terms of the wheat our farmers are growing,\u201d Spier said. \u201cWe\u2019re seeing an increase in demand for high-quality products. That\u2019s a great fit for the United States. That\u2019s where our competitive advantage is.\u201d<\/p>\n
In June, Peterson said market volatility has increased over the last 25 years, calling it a sign of the times. Spier agrees.<\/p>\n
\u201cI look at global wheat market volatility as being here to stay,\u201d Spier said. \u201cThe world is not significantly building exportable supplies. This leaves the wheat markets open to volatility when there\u2019s a geopolitical event, a supply disruption, a quality issue or changes in economic conditions.<\/p>\n
\u201cU.S. Wheat, and our work with our overseas buyers, we can help mitigate some of their exposures to that volatility by providing the wheat marketing information, the quality information that we provide in a very timely and comprehensive way,\u201d Spier said.<\/p>\n
Tough price scenario<\/p>\n
Lower wheat prices help keep the crop competitive on the world market, but \u201cit\u2019s clear the current price environment is a significant challenge\u201d for growers, Spier said.<\/p>\n
He points to increases in input costs, including fuel, fertilizer and equipment.<\/p>\n
\u201cLower prices also present a tough scenario for our farmers,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
U.S. Wheat will continue to show flour millers around the world the quality advantage that comes from using American wheat, he said.<\/p>\n
The increase in demand is coming on the consumer level, seeking higher quality products, Spier said.<\/p>\n
\u201cFlour mills are asking for more than just \u2018wheat,\u2019 they\u2019re getting a lot more specific with their demands, specific end-use performance, consistent quality,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
Social media reflects increased interest for U.S. bakery product trends in markets overseas.<\/p>\n
\u201cIn terms of improving quality products, you need a higher quality wheat,\u201d Spier said. \u201cWe\u2019re really leaning into that.\u201d<\/p>\n
Trading commitments<\/p>\n
U.S. Wheat recently announced several memorandums of understanding, with wheat customers in Indonesia and Bangladesh committing to purchasing 1 million tons and 700,000 tons each year, respectively, over the next five years.<\/p>\n
Milling associations in those countries reached out to U.S. Wheat, Spier said. The agency keeps in contact with the USDA\u2019s Foreign Agricultural Service offices.<\/p>\n
It\u2019s a new approach under the Trump administration, Spier said.<\/p>\n
\u201cI think the countries are looking at ways to narrow those trade balances with the United States,\u201d he said. \u201cThis is one way we\u2019ve seen at least two countries reach out trying to do that.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThese are the two (more MOUs) that we\u2019ve heard about, at least at U.S. Wheat Associates,\u201d Spier said. \u201cMaybe seeing these other ones out there will encourage other countries to consider them as well.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u2018A challenge I eagerly embrace\u2019<\/p>\n
Spier has been in the wheat industry for more than 30 years.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe opportunity to lead such a remarkable organization is an honor, and also a challenge I eagerly embrace,\u201d Spier said.
He\u2019s excited to work with, and on behalf of farmers, helping to maintain and develop markets for U.S. wheat long-term.<\/p>\n
For example, Spier cites commercial sales reports of 100,000 tons of U.S. wheat into the price-competitive region as a direct result of U.S. Wheat\u2019s first Sub-Saharan Africa buyers conference in April.<\/p>\n
\u201cI think our buyers understand we\u2019re there to work with them to support them,\u201d he said. \u201cWe want them to be profitable and we\u2019re there to help them do that.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Demand for wheat worldwide has outpaced production several times in the last 10 years, the new president and…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":37090,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[37],"tags":[28,112],"class_list":{"0":"post-37089","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-markets","8":"tag-business","9":"tag-markets"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/37089","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=37089"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/37089\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/37090"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=37089"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=37089"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=37089"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}