November 22, 2012

Italy's Jan-Aug grain imports down

In the first eight months of this year, Italian grain imports fell as it cut purchases of wheat, corn, and barley.

Shipments of grain and cereal products slid to 6.6 million tonnes with a total value of EUR1.91 billion (US$2.5 billion), the Associazione Nazionale Cerealisti (Anacer), as the Rome-based industry group is known, wrote in an e-mailed statement on Wednesday (Nov 21). That compared with 8.34 million tonnes and EUR2.37 billion (US$3.04 billion) a year earlier.

Italy imported more wheat in the 2011-12 crop year than any other country except Egypt, according to government figures and the International Grains Council. The European country is the world's largest pasta maker, the International Pasta Organisation says.

Soft-wheat imports fell to 2.85 million tonnes costing EUR661.3 million (US$850 million) in the eight-month period from 3.23 million tonnes and EUR816.3 million (US$1 billion) a year earlier, according to Anacer.

Buying of durum wheat, the hard variety used for pasta, declined to 941,050 tonnes worth EUR280.6 million (US$360 million), compared with 1.35 million tonnes and an import bill of EUR368.6 million (US$473 million) in last year's first eight months.

Italians ate an average 26 kilogrammes (57 pounds) of pasta per capita last year, about triple the figure of 8.8 kilogrammes for the US, according to the pasta organisation. They consume more wheat on average than people in other countries of Europe or North America, data from the International Corn and Wheat Improvement Centre show.

Eight-month corn imports dropped to 1.3 million tonnes from 1.92 million tonnes, and the value fell to EUR298.6 million (US$384 million) from EUR454.5 million (US$584 million), according to Anacer. Barley shipments slid to 342,170 tonnes from 652,995 tonnes, with a worth of EUR73.5 million (US$94 million), against EUR144 million (US$185 million).

Including spending on oilseed and protein-crop products, the value of imports declined to EUR2.97 billion (US$3.8 billion) from EUR3.47 billion (US$4.5 billion) a year earlier.

Italy's eight-month cereal-industry exports amounted to EUR1.89 billion (US$2.4 billion), against the year-earlier EUR1.9 billion (US$2.4 billion), Anacer reported. The country's grain-trade deficit shrunk to EUR1.09 billion (US$1.4 billion) from the year-earlier shortfall of EUR1.57 billion (US$2 billion).