The millers, the bakers, and the noodle-makers from across the world are learning more about the Canadian wheat they buy, as Canadian producers and exporters travel to 20 countries around the globe to discuss crop quality.

The Canadian International Grains Institute (Cigi), the Canadian Grain Commission, and Cereals Canada are once again uniting for the new crop missions happening in Europe, Asia, the Americas, and West Africa until mid-December.

Cigi CEO JoAnne Buth says customers are always fascinated by what Canadian producers have to say. She thinks the trips are important for customers to understand the crop they'll be processing.

"From year to year, the crop quality changes, and it means the millers and the bakers and the noodle-makers have to change some of the settings that they have either in the mill, or they have to add more water, or change something in the production of their end product," she says.

But the new crop missions are also an opportunity for Canadian exporters and producers, according to Buth.

"It's not all about us talking to them," she says, "it's about us gaining market intelligence and being able to bring back information for the entire value chain about what they're looking for so that then we can feed that back to the grain trade, the breeders, and make sure we're in it for the long run."

The new crop missions will start in Canada and include stops in Japan, China, Morocco, and Italy. A few will also take place online, with webinars for American, Tunisian, and Venezuelan customers. And for the first time, the tour will go to West Africa, which Buth says is an emerging economy.

"There's more opportunities for them to increase bread consumption, and they do produce very fine quality breads," she says. "Canadian wheat is clearly one of the best products for producing fine-quality breads. They have been increasing their imports of CWRS (Canada Western Red Spring) over the last few years, so we have a concerted effort to make sure the millers and the end-users in that area know what Canadian wheat can do for them."