August 12, 2008

Ukraine feed wheat dominating purchases from Western Europe

Buyers in western Europe have bought around 300,000 tonnes of Black Sea-origin feed wheat in separate deals in the last week, traders said on Monday (Aug 11, 2008).

The main origin for the wheat was said to be Ukraine.

Buyers in Spain were said to have paid 165 euros a tonne c&f. Buyers in Italy, Ireland and the Netherlands also made substantial purchases. Shipment was between September and December.

Black Sea region wheat, especially from Ukraine, is now offered at very low prices as the country has a large feed wheat crop this year and relatively little storage capacity, a trader said. This meant EU feeds would face heavier competition in its home market, he added.

Traders said on Monday a substantial volume of a Moroccan soft wheat import subsidy tender of 1.7 million tonnes of wheat was likely to be sourced from the Black Sea as well.