Despite sustained global production, Ukrainian wheat blockade keeps prices high

by time news
Transported from Ukraine by truck, cereals are loaded on May 3 on a cargo ship in the port of Constanta, in Romania. DANIEL MIHAILESCU / AFP

DECRYPTION – Russia’s attack on Ukraine poses a threat to global food security.

Overall, the world wheat harvest, which begins these days in the northern hemisphere, looks rather good. Major exporting countries should have grain to sell.

Russia, the world’s largest exporter, still has plenty of stocks and should beat its production record for the new campaign, with some 88 million tonnes of wheat harvested. In the United States, the lack of water in the South where the winter wheat grows should reduce the harvest a little, to about 46 million tonnes. In the European Union, the very heterogeneous harvests should save the day with around 125 million tonnes, barely less than last year.

A complex balance

In short, the 2022-2023 campaign, which includes the November harvests in the South (Australia, Argentina, etc.), will not create “no lack of wheat in the world“, predicts Arthur Portier, from the Agritel firm.

The problem is the mobility of the grain. The actual exportable quantity may be lower than the demand. This one should be…

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