World: The downward spiral of grain prices is merciless for EU farmers

Wheat

France

Germany

Published Feb 28, 2024

Tridge summary

The price of wheat in Europe is falling due to intense price competition from Russia and Ukraine. Russian and Ukrainian ports are loading wheat at prices significantly lower than those of European exporters, leading to a decrease in European prices. This competition has also affected corn prices, which have dropped sharply due to supply pressure from Ukraine. As a result, EU farmers have sold less wheat to third countries compared to the previous year, while EU corn imports, primarily from Ukraine, have increased.

Disclaimer: The above summary was generated by a state-of-the-art LLM model and is intended for informational purposes only. It is recommended that readers refer to the original article for more context.

Original content

The main reason for the price decline is fierce price competition from Russia and Ukraine. Given the volumes of old harvest that are still available in Russian, Ukrainian and European bins, there is a struggle for market share, which negatively affects grain prices. German agricultural analyst and grain market observer Dr. Olaf Zinke writes about this in an article on the portal Agrarheute.com: “Wheat prices in Europe are close to 200 euros/t. Downside pressure has eased somewhat, but there are too few new factors to restore the market, Agritel analysts say. The main reason for the price decline is fierce price competition from Russia and Ukraine. The Russian Black Sea port of Novorossiysk is currently loading wheat at less than US$215 per tonne, pushing European prices down further. As a result, May Euronext wheat falls short of the €200/t mark, reflecting the current gloomy mood among EU grain farmers. The European Commission recently reported that FOB prices for wheat at ...

Source: Zol