February 13, 2012

US imports more UK wheat

A cargo of 50,000 tonnes of UK feed wheat is expected to reach US in the next week to 10 days, according to market sources on Friday (Feb 10).

The shipment will take the total number of cargoes shipped so far in the 2011-12 season (July-June) to at least four, representing around 200,000 tonnes of wheat, they added.

The wheat was bought earlier in the season when the comparative strength of US corn prices prompted some animal feed makers to switch to using feed wheat. The customer is believed to be a feed compounder on the US East Coast.

UK grain merchant Openfield confirmed it shipped the first cargo of UK wheat to the US this season in November from Portbury on the west coast of England. Customs data put the size of the cargo at 49,498 tonnes.

Market sources said a second cargo was shipped from the west coast of England during December while another cargo was loaded in January at a port in the east coast of England.

The US is not a regular buyer of UK wheat which is generally exported to customers within the EU, particularly Spain and the Netherlands.

There were no shipments of UK wheat to the US during 2010-11 while a total of 71,886 tonnes was exported during 2009-10, according to customs data.