Wheat quotes on the international listing made a minor correction yesterday. According to some analysts, that is a small blemish on the blazon of a trading week that was in a positive flow in the first half.
The May wheat contract on the Matif in Paris closed at €24 per ton on Thursday, March 376,50. That is €8 lower than one day earlier. The contracts for the new harvest also took a small step back. The September contract closed at €342,50 per tonne (-€4,25) and the May 2023 contract closed at €324,75 per tonne (-€0,25). The price on the CBoT followed a similar pattern and also lost some last night. According to experts, the quotations are still on track to close above last week's closing price on Friday, March 25.
The disruptions in the supply from the Black Sea region are currently putting a firm foundation in the grain market. The fact that prices have fallen can partly be attributed to reports from Egypt. The North African country is in discussions with Argentina, France, the United States and India about future deliveries. But the responsible minister said he saw no need to immediately purchase wheat on the world market.
Theme Day Cereals
On Thursday, March 24, the Grains Theme Day was organized for the Dutch players on the grain market. 'Dutch wheat for human consumption' was the central theme. Almost all players in the chain are open to this and growing baking wheat is very possible in the Netherlands. The big pain point is who is going to pay the extra price? Feed varieties give a higher hectare yield and are therefore likely to remain leading; especially in the north of the country.
Growers are interested in box varieties, but the balance must remain the same. Another question that came up is: do you really want to make that switch? Several speakers from the audience commented that feed wheat is also desperately needed to provide consumers with milk, meat and eggs, for example.