EU Wheat Mixed As Harvest Presses On

Posted by Nogger - a legend in his own mind at 06:27 | Categorized as

06/08/13 -- EU grains closed narrowly mixed, partially arresting the recent decline, although harvesting reports from France are improving.

London wheat closed with front month Nov 13 GBP0.20/tonne lower at GBP159.30/tonne, Jan 14 was also GBP0.20/tonne easier at GBP160.30/tonne and Nov 13 Paris wheat rose EUR0.25/tonne to EUR184.50/tonne.

Egypt bought one 60 TMT cargo each of Ukraine and Romanian wheat for September shipment. Since they returned to the market last month all they have bought has been either those two origins or Russian wheat, and even the latter has been priced out in recent tenders.

Both cargoes were priced at USD263.25/tonne C&F, which is the UK equivalent of around GBP171.50/tonne including freight.

At least these prices are flushing out some buyers. Iraq bought 200 TMT of wheat, with 150 TMT coming from Australia and the remaining 50 TMT from Canada. Jordan also bought 100 TMT of optional origin wheat for Jan shipment. Bangladesh are tendering for 50 TMT of optional origin wheat for August shipment.

A Reuters survey of analysts estimated the Russian, Ukraine, and Kazakhstan total 2013/14 wheat crop at 87.0 MMT, up 36% from last year. The same survey pegged 2913/14 wheat exports from the same three leading Black Sea nations at 30.0 MMT, up 22% from 2012/13.

The Russian grain harvest is 30.6% complete at 39.6 MMT. The wheat harvest is almost 40% complete, producing 30.7 MT to date, with average yields up 31% on last year at 3.07 MT/ha. The barley harvest is 23.5% done at 4.9 MMT.

APK Inform yesterday estimated the 2013/14 Russian wheat crop at 52.1 MMT, up 38% from a year ago. They pegged barley output at 16.0 MMT

The early Ukraine grain harvest is already in the barn, producing 21.67 MMT of wheat, 7.13 MMT of barley and almost 2.2 MMT or rapeseed. The wheat harvest is up 37% versus 2012/13.

The French grain harvest is achieving "better-than-expected" results as things progress north of Paris, according to a report on Reuters. The early German harvest in the south of the country is said the be good in terms of both quantity and quality.