November 17, 2011

 

Australian, Canadian wheat face higher competition from Black Sea

 

 

Australian and Canadian wheat markets will face stiffer competition from the Black Sea region over the next few years, according to a Dow Jones report.

 

At a conference in Geneva, Fran Malecha, Head of Grain at Viterra, Canada, said cheaper grain supplies from the Black Sea region could threaten Australia and Canada's ability to supply North African and Middle Eastern markets.

 

Cheaper wheat from the Black Sea region is already making it harder for European suppliers to maintain competitiveness with countries to which they traditionally export.

 

However, Malecha said Australia's exports of wheat and barley to North Africa should remain healthy in the future. "Saudi Arabia's imports of barley in particular have indeed been strong and are expected to remain so," he said.

 

Less regulation and more open food markets are necessary to avoid global food shortages and price spikes, Malecha added.

 

Countries such as France want to push better regulation of food markets - something that has met opposition from agricultural powers such as the US.