June 16, 2008

EU corn imports more than double, sorghum import surges
  
   

At 50 weeks into the marketing year, EU corn import licenses totaled 14.1 million tonnes, which is up more than two and a half times from the same time last year, when licenses tallied 5.3 million tonnes, EU data showed Friday (June 13, 2008).

 

EU licenses to import corn rose 442,000 tonnes in the week ended June 10, adding to the surge in feed grain imports seen earlier in the 2007-08 campaign.

 

Sorghum import licenses rose 61,000 tonnes on the week to bring the marketing year total to 5.4 million tonnes. At the same time last year, licenses totaled just 614,000 tonnes.

 

Partially offsetting the rise in corn and sorghum import licenses, soft wheat export licenses rose by 279,000 tonnes on the week to 8.8 million tonnes.

 

EU licenses to import grain were 8.8 million tonnes more than those to export at 50 weeks into the marketing year. This was in sharp contrast to the same time last year when the EU was a net grain exporter of 5.0 million tonnes.

 

Traditionally, the EU is a net grain exporter, but grain imports rose sharply due to domestic crop-production problems, high feed wheat prices and insufficient intervention supplies.

 

However, due to a rise in global corn prices and forecasts for a significantly larger EU soft wheat crop in 2008-09, traders expect to see much fewer corn imports in the upcoming marketing year.

 

Meanwhile, although the EU has regained its status as net wheat exporter, net export levels still trail behind year-ago levels due to higher import levels. 

 

EU licenses to export soft wheat rose 279,000 tonnes for the week ended June 10, EU data showed Friday.

 

This brings the total for 2007-08, which is in the 50th week of the marketing year, to 8.777 million tonnes, this is up 520,000 tonnes from year-ago levels of 8.257 million tonnes.  

 

However, as soft wheat imports have risen more sharply, current net exports licenses of 4.261 million tonnes still trial behind last season's level of 4.503 million tonnes.

 

EU 2007-08 soft wheat import licenses was 4.516 million tonnes as of June 10, up 762,000 tonnes from the 3.754 million tonnes in the previous year.