WESTERN PRODUCER — The nature of eastern Canadian grain logistics and the strike by St. Lawrence Seaway workers who operate the canals will see cascading impacts across the system if the situation isn’t resolved quickly, according to Crosby Devitt, chief executive officer of Ontario Grain Farmers.
Unifor workers in both Ontario and Quebec walked off the job Sunday following a breakdown in talks between them and system operator, St. Lawrence Seaway Management Corp.
Talks are slated to resume on Friday, but Devitt said there is little time to spare because the longer the seaway is closed, the bigger impact the strike will have.
“What we’re doing is calling on government and the parties involved to get this strike over as soon as possible.”
Devitt said storage capacity in southwestern Ontario, which is home to the province’s grain and soybean production, is limited because of the close proximity to port access. The strike is occurring at a particularity critical point in the harvest, he added.
“We’re in the last third of soybean harvest, and corn is just getting started in Ontario. It’s been a late start for the growing season and wet weather these last few weeks. We’ve got a huge amount of corn and soybeans that are either in the field or need to get to market,” he said.
“We rely on boats moving out the St. Lawrence around the world at harvest in Ontario.”
Port terminals in southwestern Ontario are filling up and deliveries are starting to be restricted.
Storage capacity is currently being used for soybeans, which means corn can’t be harvested and stored, Devitt said.
“If we don’t free up that room in the countryside from beans, we’re not going to have room for corn,” he said.
Bookmark SASKTODAY.ca, Saskatchewan's home page, at this link.
The strike’s impacts could reach beyond southwestern Ontario if it continues. The seaway usually closes during freeze-up in January, and the backlog could hit western grain shipments coming out of Thunder Bay if a resolution isn’t found before the New Year, he added.
Contact alex.mccuaig@producer.com
