Most EU wheat goes to North Africa
The European Union has exported 19 million tons of wheat from July 1, 2022 to February 5 of this year. That is 6.7% more than in the same period a year ago.
In the first months of the marketing season, wheat exports lagged considerably behind a year earlier. But this backlog has now been largely made up. The main buyers of soft wheat this season are Morocco, Algeria, Egypt, Nigeria and Saudi Arabia.
Barley
Sales of EU barley, at 3.2 million tonnes, are 40% far below the level of a year ago. Barley is in reasonable demand in Europe, also as a substitute for corn, which means that prices are relatively high. In addition to wheat, barley is also an interesting product for feed suppliers, because maize imports are expected to decline slightly in the coming months. This is because Brazilian maize sales are disappearing. In the Black Sea region, Russia delays the passage of ships, causing long waiting times for Ukrainian ships.
Corn
Despite global uncertainties, EU maize imports are well ahead of last year (+69%). Up to and including 5 February, 16.7 million tonnes of maize has been imported by the EU this marketing season. That was 9.9 million tons of maize in the same period a year ago. Most corn came from Ukraine (7.9 million tons), but the Brazilian supply was also ample at 7.4 million tons.
