08/31/05 Gulf exports and the hurricane

Farm and Ranch August 31, 2005 Much attention has been paid to the impact Hurricane Katrina has had on the oil and refining industry in the Gulf but New Orleans is also a significant grain export point for the U.S. as USDA deputy undersecretary Jim Butler explains. Butler: "The Mississippi River is one of the main thoroughfares to move our bulk commodities, primarily grain, soybeans, etc from the north to south and 60% of our bulk commodity exports go through the Port of New Orleans. So, yes no question, this will have an impact on trade and commodity movement. We don't know the impact as of yet. We don't know the destruction in and around the equipment that helps to load and unload vessels, but there is no question it is going to have some impact on trade." Concerns about export delays were cited Tuesday by grain futures traders at Chicago and Kansas City. Shipping on the lower Mississippi had been shut down prior to the arrival of Hurricane Katrina and damage assessments were continuing yesterday. Besides damage to facilities the hurricane could also have altered shipping channel depths. CF Industries, a major producer and distributor of nitrogen and phosphate fertilizer products has a nitrogen fertilizer complex in Louisiana. The company shut down before the storm and reports that its facility came through in excellent condition. It never did lose electrical power and just needs natural gas supplies restored to resume operation. I'm Bob Hoff and that's the Northwest Farm and Ranch Report on the Northwest Ag Information Network.