Asia wheat crunch to persist as farmers hold off for better prices

Asian wheat buyers are struggling to secure supplies as farmers in top exporting nations hold back sales following production cuts that have pushed global prices to multi-year highs, millers and traders said. Intense heat withered crops in recent months across the world’s most important export hubs of the Black Sea, Canada and Europe, catching trading firms by surprise and leaving buyers facing shortages and potential output cuts at flour mills. Large wheat growers such as China have also stepped up imports of the grain this year, ensuring that competition for wheat across Asia will persist. “Prices have gone up more that what we expected,” said the owner of a leading wheat miller and noodle maker in number two wheat importer Indonesia, who declined to be identified due to the sensitivity around food supplies. “We expect a decline of around 10% in wheat processing” in 2021 from 2020, he said. Asian importers, who take up around a third of global wheat shipments, often react sooner ...