September 14, 2010

Italy's H1 grain imports show increase

Italy's first-half grain imports increased 8.7% on demand for soft and durum wheat and barley, according to the national cereal-industry association.

Inbound shipments climbed to 5.88 million tonnes from 5.41 million tonnes a year earlier, the Rome-based Associazione Nazionale Cerealisti (Anacer) said in a statement.

Italy is the EU's largest importer of grain from outside the bloc, partly because of its requirements for durum wheat to make pasta. The country accounts for more than 80% of EU durum imports.

Imports of soft wheat, used for bread and livestock feed, jumped 12% to 2.28 million tonnes, and shipments of durum advanced 4.9% to 1.03 million tonnes.

Italian cereal-industry exports, which include risotto rice and processed products such as animal feed and pasta, climbed 7.5 % to 1.93 million tonnes, the figures showed.

Grain imports in the first six months of 2010 had a worth of EUR1.22 billion (US$1.56 billion) and exports amounted to EUR1.25 billion (US$1.6 billion). Italy's cereal-industry trade surplus was EUR36.2 million (US$46.3 million) over the period, down from EUR56.8 million (US$72.7 million) a year earlier, Anacer said.