Once being the world’s leading exporter of wheat, America is far behind Canada and Russia in the export of wheat, mostly due to the rising competition, stagnant yields, stronger dollar, and GMO.
Experts suggest that the wheat export is currently the lowest since 1972 after being reduced by 9.3 percent to 21.1 million metric tons in the season ending May 31.
Alan Tracy, president of US Wheat Associates told Bloomberg: “We’re no longer going to lead in volume every year,” also claiming that the only hope for the country was the increased global trade of wheat.
The Department of Agriculture reports that 40 percent of wheat crop grown in the U.S. are exported, and the acreage for winter wheat has been reduced to its second-lowest since 1913.
Therefore, America is not the leading force in global wheat markets anymore, as its farmers have turned to soybeans and corn. The present leading wheat exporter in the world is Russia, which monopolizes the markets in the Middle East.
The Moscow-based Institute for Agriculture Market Studies (IKAR) predicts that Russia will harvest 62.5 million metric tons of wheat in 2016, which would be the most in 8 years.
During the previous week, the exports from the Black Sea have been increased up to $185 a ton, which is again, the highest since December. IKAR also reports that prices have been raised 3.9 percent from a 5-year low set in February and March.
Olivier Bouillet, from the consulting company Agritel, from Paris, “Crop conditions currently are good, especially in the southern district.”
Furthermore, the richer harvest from Russia might serve as a compensation for the reduced harvest in the Ukraine, where the output might be reduced by 9% to 7.2 million tons.
Read more at: www.rt.com