Romania in competition with France for the export of wheat in 2019/2020

By Jerom Bolt
The wheat exports from the European Union continued to increase in the last week, between July 1 and September 2, the exported quantity is 3.9 million tonnes, 20% more than in the similar period of last year, data published by The European Commission.
According to information released Monday by the EU Crops Market Observatory, in the week ending September 1, the European Union delivered 397,455 tons of wheat, compared to 360,959 tons in the previous week.
Romania remains the most important wheat exporter in the Community block, with deliveries of 1.4 million tonnes between July 1 and September 2, 2019.
France, the largest agricultural power in the EU and the country that would be responsible for 41% of total EU wheat exports in 2019/20, is currently behind Romania in the current season, which began on July 1, 2019. According to European Commission data, France’s total wheat exports stood at 765,260 tonnes in the reporting period.
The data also show that Saudi Arabia is the main destination for EU wheat, importing 507,921 tons between July 1 and September 2, 2019, ahead of Algeria, which imported 451,161 tons. Algeria has traditionally been the main buyer of wheat from the EU.
According to the European Commission’s forecasts, in the 2019/20 season, wheat exports of the Community block would reach 26.6 million tonnes, an increase of 18% compared to 22.4 million tonnes in the 2018/19 season.
The wheat exports from the Community block last year were under the estimates of the US Department of Agriculture, which relied on deliveries of 24 million tonnes, due to the tough competition of wheat from the Black Sea basin.
Recently, the EU has revised down its estimates of production per hectare for wheat crops, due to adverse weather conditions in some countries. According to the Commission’s forecasts, EU wheat production is expected to reach 143 million tonnes in 2019/20, up 10.4% from the previous season.
According to European Commission data, France’s total wheat exports stood at 765,260 tonnes in the reporting period.
The data also show that Saudi Arabia is the main destination for EU wheat, importing 507,921 tons between July 1 and September 2, 2019, ahead of Algeria, which imported 451,161 tons. Algeria has traditionally been the main buyer of wheat from the EU.
According to the European Commission’s forecasts, in the 2019/20 season, wheat exports of the Community block would reach 26.6 million tonnes, an increase of 18% compared to 22.4 million tonnes in the 2018/19 season.
The wheat exports from the Community block last year were under the estimates of the US Department of Agriculture, which relied on deliveries of 24 million tonnes, due to the tough competition of wheat from the Black Sea basin.
In the first part of the export season, the main beneficiary in Romania was Egypt. The quantities contracted by wheat, up to August 6 a.c., by the General Authority for the Supply of Goods (GASC) from Egypt with cereal traders operating on the Romanian market, already amount to 660,000 tonnes, according to farmfarmers.ro.
Thus, eight grain traders entered into supply contracts with the General Authority for Supply of Goods (GASC) in Egypt, from the beginning of the marketing year 2019/2020 (July this year), for wheat deliveries, until mid-September, at FOB prices ranging from $ 196.71 / tonne ($ 210.45 / tonne CIF), at the beginning of the season, and $ 204.23 / tonne ($ 219.42 / tonne CIF) at the beginning of August this year, the publication informs fermierinromania.ro.
The Chinese trader COFCO (the largest cereal trader in Romania in 2018) delivered to Egypt 60,000 tons of wheat from Romania, between July 11 and 21, 2019, for a contract concluded with the GASC on June 11 a.c. In the same period, Egypt purchased 60,000 tonnes from Russia, at approximately equal price levels, below $ 200 / tonne. Between July 22 and 31, BC, Ameropa and Cerealcom Dolj provided 120,000 tons of wheat and, respectively, 60,000 tons contracted on June 20, a.c. At the same time, Russia supplied 110,000 tons. <brRomania’s wheat crop is estimated at between 9-10 million tons.</br