by PressFrench grain exporters increase volumes
French grain exporters increase shipment volumes
French company Senalia, which is the operator of the country’s largest grain terminal, has published its plans for the 2022/23 marketing year. According to them, the company intends to increase the volume of shipments to 4.6 million tons, which is 14% higher than the previous period. One of the reasons that grain exporters are growing shipments is an increase in demand from China.
It should be noted that France is the leader in the European Union among the suppliers of crops. In 2022, the country significantly increased the volume of wheat sales to the world market to compensate for the decline in exports of other leading producers. During the second half of 2022 Senalia shipped 2.4 million tons of grain to importers, 11% more than during the same period in 2021. In the first half of the season, the greatest demand was for French wheat. In addition, increased demand for barley from China contributed to an increase in the price of the crop. As a result, Senalia significantly increased sales of crops, even despite a number of technical problems. The fact that the bottom of the Seine River in the port of Rouen complicated the shipment, in general, during the year the volume of shipments here was reduced by 10 thousand tons. However, the operator was able to fully compensate for the difficulties by increasing the number of large ships.
2022 was a successful year not only for the operator Senalia. Another French company Nord Cereales reported its results for the period. Only in the first 5 months of the 2022/23 marketing year, it shipped 1.2 million tons of grain, which was the largest indicator for 10 years. The operator manages the third-largest terminal, which is located in the port of Dunkirk. For comparison, during the entire previous season, the company exported 1.6 million tons. The reason for the decrease in volumes at that time was the pandemic, the low grain harvest in France, as well as the repair of the elevator’s capacities.
The geopolitical conflict, which caused significant disruptions and delays in the supply of Black Sea wheat, forced importers to look for other suppliers. French producers were a good solution, the demand for their products has increased significantly. China remains the main buyer of wheat for them, the volume of sales to the country is from 400 to 700 thousand tons in one batch. Accordingly, futures on French wheat began to go up, which increased the activity of local traders who wanted to sell as much grain as possible. The largest ports in France are Rouen, La Palice, and Dunkirk, from which regular shipments of agricultural products to different countries are made. A recent major shipment was the transshipment of wheat to China. The ship picked up at Dunkirk and then made another stop at Rouen before heading on to its destination.