• European Commission data show that Romania is, at the moment, the largest exporter of wheat in Europe.
In the first two months of the 2023-2024 commercial year that began in July, Romania overtook France in wheat exports outside the EU, while imports fell compared to the previous year. If so far France, the largest exporter in recent years, has delivered only 765.000 tons of wheat for export, Romania has exported 1,26 million tons of wheat, a little more than the quantities exported in the same period of the last commercial year.
data European Commission it also shows that Poland delivered over 927.000 tons, and Bulgaria over 877.000 tons. More than 20% of the wheat exported from Europe in these two months from the beginning of the commercial year originates from Romania.
In an auction dated August 2, Egypt's General Supply Authority (GASC) bought 60.000 tons of Romanian wheat from the international trader Viterra, that in an auction on August 22, Egypt will buy another 60.000 tons of Romanian wheat from Agro Chirnogi, with delivery between October 5-20.
To these figures is added another amount of 120.000 tons of wheat from Romania that will leave for Egypt between October 25 and November 10 following a purchase made by GASC on August 29, these data not being included in the statistics of the European Commission, which includes data up to August 27 only.
Imports fell
Exports in the first two months of the 2023-2024 commercial year are similar to those in the same period last year when 1,25 million tonnes were exported across EU borders. For the 2021/2022 commercial year, however, exports in the first two months slightly exceeded 1,7 million tons.
Romanian wheat had the lowest price at the auction, at $261/ton FOB (free on board), and traders claim that the unofficial price ceiling established by Russia makes Russian wheat less competitive. Egypt is the world's largest buyer of wheat, a staple needed to maintain the bread subsidy program on which more than 70 million of Egypt's 103 million Egyptians depend.
Imports also decreased as a result of the bans imposed until September 15 on Ukrainian exports. For the analyzed period, Romania imported approximately 59.500 tons of common wheat, approximately 60% less than in the similar period of the last commercial year when 148 tons were imported, of which approximately 000 tons from Ukraine.
Article written by Gabriela Dan, Editor of Arta Albă
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