It’s not an easy sell, but the chair of the Alberta Barley Commission’s market development group says a recent trade mission to Japan and South Korea was a solid step forward.
Glenn Logan was part of a delegation of Canadians on the two-week-long trade mission, and said the Asian nations are important target markets for Alberta barley.
Currently, South Korea and Japan have fairly low quotas for imports of grain and impose high tariffs when the quota is exceeded, but it’s hoped the Trans-Pacific Partnership trade talks will change that situation, said Logan.
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“There’s a real opportunity for barley in feed and food, that’s where growth will come from in this present market,” Logan said.
One outcome of the trip is an agreement to set up feed trials in Hokkaido, Alberta’s sister province in Japan. Cattle feeders in both Japan and South Korea aren’t familiar with barley and have some misconceptions about the feed grain.
“They’ve been told corn makes the best beef but we’ve done lots of studies here, and others have done studies as well, that show there’s really no difference in taste between barley and corn,” said Tim McAllister, a researcher from the Lethbridge Research Centre who was on the trade mission.
He said their hosts had many questions and he had a chance to point out the advantages of barley, including its higher protein count and that it’s cheaper to process barley compared to corn.
Both Logan and McAllister thanked the province for its help in arranging meetings with officials from large companies in the two nations.
“I think we had some very good people from the Alberta government there opening doors for us and arranging our tours,” Logan said.
The Ministry of International and Intergovernmental Relations has 10 international offices, and six of them are in Asia, noted Minister Cal Dallas.
“They’re critical for expanding our opportunities in that market,” he said.
