CWB got new name G3 Canada

G3 Global Grain Group announced July 31 that it has completed its investment in the former Canadian Wheat Board(CWB) and has renamed the company G3 Canada.The CWB brand, which has been part of the prairie landscape since the early 1900s, will still be visible for a few months, but for all intents and purposes it no longer exists.

 

The former wheat board will transit from a government regulated grain trading enterprise to a fully commercial grain handling company.

 

G3 Canada will be based in Winnipeg and will consist of former CWB assets as well as grain handling assets previously owned by Bunge Canada. G3 Canada will not include Bunge Canada’s canola crush assets, which will continue to operate as Bunge Canada.

 

G3 Canada will be 50.1 percent owned by G3 Global Grain Group, a joint venture between Bunge and the Saudi Agriculture and Livestock Investment Company (SALIC).The remaining 49.9 percent will be owned by western Canadian farmers who take advantage of a farmer equity offer, which has been in place for the past two years.

 

Farmers acquired a $5 equity stake in the former CWB for every tonne of grain delivered to CWB.That farmer equity will be carried forward to the new entity.G3 Canada Ltd. will keep the farmer equity offer in place and will also retain commercial grain handling agreements that were established by CWB, at least for the time being.

 

Karl Gerrand, CEO of G3 Global Grain Group said the new company is continuing to assess the feasibility of building a new export facility at the Port of Vancouver. It is also considering a new transfer terminal in Hamilton, Ont., which will collect Ontario grain and transfer it to another G3 facility in Trois Rivieres, Que.The company also has plans to expand its prairie origination capabilities with new inland terminals in Saskatchewan and Alberta. The locations of those facilities have yet to be announced.