April 20, 2007

UK wheat exports down 32 percent in February

UK wheat exports for February totalled 164,864 tonnes, a drop of 32 percent from the 242,358 tonnes exported a month earlier, according to customs figures released through the UK Home-Grown Cereals Authority.

Traditional buyer Spain accounted for the bulk of the business, taking 72,884 tonnes in February, a drop from the 145,257 tonnes sent out in January.

In the first eight months of the 2006/07 campaign, exports have totalled 1.485 million tonnes, down 12.5 percent from the same period last year.

Most of this season's decline in exports can be attributed to Spain, which had reduced import needs after recovering from the previous season's severe drought. So far this campaign, Spain has taken 778,928 tonnes of UK wheat, down from 1.1 million tonnes for the same time last year.

The 2006/07 exportable wheat surplus is estimated around 2 million tonnes.

UK barley exports were 56,283 tonnes in February, up from the 21,829 tonnes exported a month earlier.

In the first eight months of the 2006/07 campaign, UK barley exports were 422,213 tonnes, down from the 517,313 tonnes from the year-earlier period.

UK rapeseed January. Eight months into the season, rapeseed exports total 134,714 tonnes, down from 156,061 tonnes for the same time last year.