World Grain - December 2007 - 14

newsreview
CWB wheat shipments through Churchill hit 30-year high
WINNIPEG, CANADA - The Canadian Wheat Board (CWB) said
it has shipped 621,000 tonnes of western Canadian wheat and durum
through the Port of Churchill this year - the highest volume since
1977.
"This has been one of the best years for Churchill in recent memory," CWB Chair Ken Ritter said Nov. 5 at a news conference with
OmniTRAX Inc., owners of the port and rail line. "The CWB is
proud to have played an important role in its success by pushing use
of Churchill to the maximum for our wheat exports."
In 1977, there were 729,183 tonnes of CWB grain shipped out of
Churchill - mainly to the Soviet Union. This year, the CWB maximized its use of the port by filling 20 ships with grain bound for

customers in Brazil, Italy and Africa. CWB shipments comprised
100% of the grain shipped through Churchill in 2007 and 90% of
all traffic.
From 1997 to 2007, annual CWB shipments through Churchill
have averaged 410,000 tonnes, representing 87% of Churchill's annual grain exports. CWB said exporting wheat through Churchill
saves farmers money on transportation in terms of rail-freight costs
and avoiding St. Lawrence Seaway charges.
The 2007 Churchill shipping season ended with the Oct. 26 departure of the Kapitan Sviridov, a Russian vessel which unloaded
fertilizer and was reloaded with 18,000 tonnes of wheat bound for
Italy.

PEOPLE
CBH Group chairman to retire in 2008
WEST PERTH, AUSTRALIA - CBH Group Chairman Tony Critch
on Nov. 15 announced that he will not seek re-election to the board at
the completion of his term in 2008.
Critch has served as a director of the CBH Group for 18 years,
and the last two years as chairman. Critch said it was a decision he
had not made lightly, particularly given the challenges the industry

is facing.
Critch's term as a CBH Group Director will expire at the Annual
General Meeting (AGM) to be held on April 2, 2008. He will remain
chairman of the CBH Group for the duration of his term as director.
The CBH Group Board will announce a chairman-elect following
the December Board meeting.

Smail joins ConAgra Mills in research, innovation role
OMAHA, NEBRASKA, U.S. - Dr. Virgil W. Smail has joined ConAgra Mills as senior director of research, quality and innovation. A
veteran of the grain production, grain marketing and baking industries, Smail most recently was senior vice-president of the Nutritional
Food Ingredients division of Lallemand/American Yeast.
In his new role, Smail will assist ConAgra customers on product
development support, ranging from ideation and scale-up through
customer validation, product launch and beyond.

Smail has held a number of high-profile positions related to the
grain-based foods industry. From 1991 to 1994, he was the director
of the Manhattan, Kansas, U.S., Grain Marketing Research Laboratory of the Agricultural Research Service, part of the U.S. Department of Agriculture. Smail was president and chief executive officer
of the American Institute of Baking from 1994 until 2004. Until this
past January he was head of the Department of Grain Science and
Industry at Kansas State University.

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