August 16, 2010

Grain imports for Italy show increase

In the first five months of the year, Italy's grain imports rose 11% on increased purchases of soft wheat and barley, according to the national cereal-industry association.

Inbound grain shipments climbed to 4.82 million tonnes from 4.33 million tonnes a year earlier, the Rome-based Associazione Nazionale Cerealisti (Anacer) said.

Italy is the largest EU importer of grain from outside the 27-nation bloc, in part because of demand for durum wheat to make pasta. The country accounts for more than 80% of EU durum imports.

National imports of soft wheat, used for bread and cookies, jumped 21% to 1.91 million tonnes. Shipments of durum advanced 1.4 % to 780,362 tonnes and barley imports rose 57% to 339,461 tonnes.

Italy's imports of corn declined 4.5% to 937,335 tonnes, Anacer said.

Italian cereal-industry exports, which include rice and processed products such as animal feed and pasta, climbed 5.7% to 1.58 million tonnes, the figures showed.

Five-month grain imports were worth EUR1 billion (US$1.28 billion), while exports amounted to EUR1.04 billion (US$1.33 billion). Italy's cereal industry had a trade surplus of EUR38.3 million (US$49 million), down from EUR79.3 million (US$101.5 million) a year earlier, Anacer said.