The balance was used domestically for feed and other purposes. The majority of Canadian wheat export sales are to markets in the Asia Pacific region and in Latin America. Any new variety released in Canada must meet quality standards established for its class, resulting in predictable milling and baking characteristics. U.S. millers import Canadian wheat with guaranteed quality characteristics and blend it with U.S. wheat to achieve desired results. The United States imports a number of Canadian wheat classes for various end uses, including several milling wheat classes and durum wheat.
Canadian wheat fills a market niche in the United States.
Blending of Canadian and U.S. wheat by U.S. millers adds value to their operations by softening the variations in U.S. wheat supplies and enhancing flour performance. Various intrinsic properties of Canadian wheat enhance U.S. wheat consumption. For example, Canada Western Extra Strong wheat is uniquely suited as a blending wheat to increase gluten strength. It can be an especially effective complement to U.S. wheats in the production of flour used to serve the growing number of in-store bakeries and other frozen dough operations. Most Canadian wheat exported to the United States is shipped by rail directly to processors, thus bypassing country elevators in Montana and North Dakota.