Representatives from 14 countries are in Winnipeg this week for the 48th International Grain Industry Program at the Canadian International Grains Institute.

The two-week program gives international customers a look at Canadian grain production. They'll be in classroom sessions and technical demonstrations, and have already toured some farms and terminals.

Akshay Patel is a trader with Agricorp International in Singapore. He says the biggest surprise about Canadian grain production is how massive the operations are.

"People don't realize how small Singapore is," he says. "Probably Singapore is the size of 18 - 20 fields over here. That's how huge the fields and operations are here. So it's been an eye-opener, for me, just to see the size of the fields people work on."

A couple the participants said they were impressed by the effort Canadians make to ensure there are no grain quality issues. Next week the group is headed to B.C. to see Port of Vancouver.

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