Canadian wheat imports in 2008-09 highest in over a decade.

U.S. customers bought more western Canadian wheat during the 2008-09 marketing year (June-May) than in any year since USDA began tracking such imports through the use of end-use certificates.

According to updated information released this week by USDA's Farm Service Agency, U.S. buyers imported 85.43 million bushels of hard red spring and durum wheat from Canada during 2008-09. This figure is just slightly higher than the previous high of 85.17 million bushels recorded in 2006-07.

The North American Free Trade Agreement Implementation Act requires USDA to establish end-use requirements for wheat and barley imported from any country that requires end-use certificates for imports of U.S.-produced commodities. Canada is the only nation that requires such certificates, and U.S. hard red spring and durum wheats are the only commodities subjected to the Canadian restrictions.

To monitor imports of western Canadian wheat, FSA in April 1994 began the end-use certificate program which requires the tracking and identity preservation of Canadian wheat all the way through to its use as animal feed, for milling into flour or for re-export.

Soft red winter wheat produced in eastern Canada is not subject to tracking and identify preservation under the program because Canada does not require such certificates for this class of U.S. wheat.

The number of acres planted to wheat in the United States has continued to fall in recent years. In fact, U.S. farmers planted more acres to wheat 110 years ago than they did this year: 52.3 million acres in 1899 versus 50.4 million acres in 2009.