The European acreage of soft wheat is expected to reach its highest point in the past 2021 years in the 5 season, according to market agency Strategie Grains. The improved sowing conditions, higher prices and increased demand are the main reasons for this.
The first forecast from market agency Strategy Grains for the European soft wheat area is 24 million tons. That includes the area of the United Kingdom. It is an increase of about 2 million tons compared to this season. This increases the wheat area to the highest level of the past 5 years. In the 2016 harvest, the area of soft wheat in the European Union was slightly higher, at 24,3 million hectares. The forecast is based on improved sowing conditions this year. In France, for example, 2% of sowing had been completed by November 76, an increase of 13 percentage points year-on-year.
Improved prices
In addition, the high prices also contribute to the renewed interest in soft wheat. The December contract recently closed at €211,25 per tonne, slightly below last month's level of €214 per tonne. This was the highest rating in 2 years. The contract for September 2021 stands at €192 per tonne, an increase of €13 compared to last year. In London, the November contract peaked at £190,85 per tonne earlier this week. Prices are partly supported by concerns about drought and poor sowing of winter grains in Russia.
The market agency has adjusted the export figures for soft wheat slightly downwards: -700.000 tons to 24,3 million tons. One of the reasons for this is the fact that less corn is available for imports, due to strong demand from China. Maize imports to the European Union have been adjusted downwards by almost 2 million tons to approximately 17 million tons. That is the lowest import figure since the 2016/2017 season and a significant decrease compared to last year. Then 18,4 million corn was imported. So far, approximately 2020% less has been imported for the 2021/19,5 season than last year.