November 3, 2008

EU wheat export licenses surge by 494,000 tonnes on week

EU licenses to export soft wheat rose 494,000 tonnes for the week ended October 28, 2008, as compared to the previous week, according to EU data.

Eighteen weeks into the 2008-09 marketing year, soft wheat export licenses totaled 8.142 million tonnes, up more than 3-fold from 2.392 million tonnes for the same period in the 2007-08 campaign.

Licenses to export corn rose by 61,000 tonnes on the week to 464,000 tonnes in the marketing year so far, more than triple the exports for the same period in 2007-08.

Licenses to import wheat increased 214,000 tonnes to bring the total to 2.494 million tonnes, slightly more than the 2.421 million tonnes imported over the same period the previous marketing year.

However, so far in the 2008-09 marketing year, licenses to import grain are running behind last season's pace. So far in 2008-09, EU grain import licenses add up to 5.008 million tonnes, down from 10.261 million tonnes a year earlier.