French wheat shipments fall further in January

French wheat shipments in January hit their lowest since September, while recovering on the year, amid stronger exports to Morocco and declining purchases from Algeria.

France last month shipped 775,000t of soft wheat to non-EU countries, down from 808,200t in December but up from 546,000t a year earlier, preliminary line-up data indicate.

Morocco was the primary destination of French soft wheat last month, with shipments to the country reaching 317,600t. Exports to China remained robust, despite edging down on the month, at a combined 281,600t.

In contrast, no shipments to Algeria — traditionally the largest buyer of French wheat — were recorded in January. This was also the first month France did not ship any wheat to Algeria since at least 2012-13.

Algeria has increasingly sought wheat supply from the Black Sea area this year as well as Argentina, as quality issues affecting the French crop this year, paired with the diplomatic spat between the two countries pushed Algeria to seek alternatives. Algerian state-run grains agency OAIC repeatedly passed on offers for French wheat in its international tenders, until late January, when it was reported to have booked 60,000-80,000t of product for February-March shipment.

Meanwhile, feed wheat shipments totalled 53,000t last month, with China as the sole receiver of crop.

Combined soft wheat shipments, including feed wheat, since the start of the 2021-22 marketing year in July have now reached 5.32mn t. France is expected to export 9mn t of soft wheat to non-EU countries this marketing season, under government agriculture and sea products agency FranceAgriMer estimates, up from 7.42mn t shipped last year. That said, this last estimate has been revised down constantly from an initial projection of 10.5mn t in July.

Argus Media

Tags: Algeria, export, France, Morocco, shipments, soft wheat, wheat