April 29, 2012

France's grain exports from Rouen port down 35%

As no wheat was sent to African destinations for the first time since January, grain exports from the French port of Rouen fell 35% to a nine-week low.

Export cargoes dropped to 37,585 tonnes between April 19-25 from 57,771 tonnes a week earlier, the Seine River port wrote in an e-mailed report Thursday (Apr 26). That included 16,145 tonnes of soft wheat, down from 53,575 tonnes.

Algeria was the biggest destination, taking 13,500 tonnes of barley, the port wrote. Shipments of the grain from Rouen exceeded cargoes of wheat for the first time since at least August 2010.

Rouen accounted for 41% of France's grain exports by sea in 2010-11, ahead of La Pallice on the Bay of Biscay and Dunkirk on the North Sea, which shipped out 17% and 11% respectively, according to port data.