by PressIn France, exports declined: decreased shipments of soft wheat and other grains
Exports declined in France: an overview of shipments to non-EU countries
There are changes in the supply of French soft wheat to countries outside the European Union. Since December, exports fell, which was caused by a decrease in shipments to China.
It should be noted that before that, for several months, exports of grains from France kept at record highs. For example, in December the country shipped 797 thousand tons of soft wheat outside the EU, which is 877 thousand tons less than in November. This figure is considered the best for the current season. From October to December the leader among importers of French grain was China. In the last month of 2020 the country bought 271,300 tons.
A total of almost 500 thousand tons of grain was shipped from France to China last month, including two types of barley — brewing barley and feed barley. This figure was the lowest since September.
In November, shipments of French crops to Algeria increased, the volume of exports was the second after China. Only soft wheat was shipped 213,300 tons. In this case, since September there has been an increase in sales of grain to Algeria, before the country reduced imports. It should be noted that the Algerian market is one of the most promising for France.
Analysts noted that in December, there was a decrease in grain exports to almost all countries outside the European Union. In terms of supplies, the third place was taken by Pakistan, which bought 66 thousand tons.
FranceAgriMer recently revised its previous forecast for soft wheat exports. Despite the high demand, which will be observed in the coming months, shipments from France may decrease by about 50% compared to last season. This is due to a decrease in the country’s harvest. Analysts estimate that the average volume of wheat production fell by 18.5%. Both spring and winter wheat crops decline, as well as barley. But last season they harvested more corn than before. Increased volumes are expected in the current period.
Last month, 129,600 tons of feed barley were shipped outside the EU, all bought by China. Exports of brewing barley were 12,200 tons, the lowest since 2009.
The record low of cereals shipments from France in the last 4 years, including corn and wheat are the figures of December. Then 1.14 million tons were shipped.