Price of wheat new crop flies up

The May 2022 wheat contract took a small step back on the Matif by €0,25 to €390,50 per tonne. The expiration date for this contract is rapidly approaching, causing traders and speculators to reduce their positions. The focus therefore shifts to the first contract of the new harvest and this was clearly noticeable yesterday at the Paris stock exchange. The September contract rose yesterday by €10,25 to €387,50 per tonne. The other contracts of the new harvest were also on the rise. The last contract of the 2022 harvest, the May 2023 contract, rose to €372,75 per tonne, a plus of €7,50 compared to the previous closing price. All contracts for the upcoming harvest are therefore again above €370 per tonne. The wheat price was not only on the rise at the Paris stock exchange. On the CBoT, the July contract rose 3% to $1079,25 per bushel (approximately €374 per tonne). The March contract is currently trading at a high of $1082,25 per bushel (approximately €375 per tonne).

The extreme heat in the north of India - where a lot of wheat is grown - is giving wheat prices a big boost. The country had record harvests for five years in a row. India has now had to adjust its yield forecast downwards from 111,3 million tonnes according to the forecast in February to 105 million tonnes. India is one of the largest wheat producers in the world and the country has the potential to export more wheat due to its modest position in world wheat trade. This extra wheat is desperately needed to compensate for the loss of supply from the Black Sea region. However, a smaller harvest due to an extremely warm and dry growing season throws a spanner in the works. Several top officials hinted yesterday at advising Indian Prime Minister Modi to limit wheat exports due to lower yields due to the extreme weather. According to Food Minister Pandey, this is not necessary at the moment because there is sufficient stock to meet domestic demand, he said during a meeting yesterday.

Without Ukraine and Russia there would be no food security
According to UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres, the problem of world food security cannot be solved without the restoration of agricultural production in Ukraine and the return of Russian food and fertilizers to the world market. According to Guterres, the invasion of Ukraine has caused additional volatility in the financial market, pushed up commodity prices and disrupted logistics chains. This puts the economic recovery after the corona crisis at risk. “According to our analysis, the war in Ukraine is making matters worse and triggering a three-dimensional crisis affecting global food, energy, and financial systems for developing countries,” Guterres said yesterday during a visit to Nigeria. “There is really no real solution to the problem of global food security without returning the agricultural production of Ukraine and the food and fertilizer production of Russia and Belarus to world markets, despite the war.”