EU 2023/24 soft wheat exports down 11% by Jan 7
Jan 9 (Reuters) – Soft wheat exports from the European Union since the start of the 2023/24 season in July had reached 15.84 million metric tons by Jan. 7, down 11% from a year earlier, data published by the European Commission showed on Tuesday.
EU barley exports totalled 3.17 million tons, up 3% from the corresponding period in 2022/23, while EU maize imports were at 9.03 million tons, down 43% from a year earlier.
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However, the Commission said grain export data for Italy was missing since Dec. 20.
Tuesday’s publication was the first in three weeks following a break for the Christmas and New Year holidays.
The Commission’s latest figures showed Romania was still the biggest EU soft wheat exporter so far in 2023/24, with 4.07 million tons shipped, followed by France with 3.36 million, Poland with 2.34 million, Bulgaria at 1.67 million and Lithuania at 1.49 million.
EU wheat exports this season have been curbed by strong Russian competition, including in Algeria, though the gap compared with last season has narrowed in recent weeks, partly reflecting a run of French shipments to China.
The Commission listed the top five destinations for EU soft wheat exports so far this season, compared with a year ago, as follows:
2023/24
2022/23
Destination
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Morocco
2,245,528
14.2%
2,507,575
14.1%
Nigeria
1,541,446
9.7%
1,363,391
7.7%
Algeria
1,374,512
8.7%
2,220,901
12.5%
Egypt
1,281,677
8.1%
1,628,206
9.2%
South Africa
796,282
5.0%
476,385
2.7%
For maize imports, Spain remained by far the largest EU buyer so far in 2023/24 with 3.95 million tons.
The top five supplier countries for EU maize imports were listed as follows:
2023/24
2022/23
Origin
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Ukraine
5,150,617
57.0%
7,388,778
46.7%
Brazil
2,770,964
30.7%
7,235,655
45.7%
Canada
259,550
2.9%
420,593
2.7%
Serbia
209,332
2.3%
339,357
2.1%
Russia
154,909
1.7%
81,068
0.5%
Source Link: https://www.nasdaq.com/articles/eu-2023-24-soft-wheat-exports-down-11-by-jan-7
