French wheat exports hit season's high in December

• The EU's largest grain producer, is widely expected to increase wheat shipments this season after harvesting its second-largest crop on record.
• The December shipments took French soft wheat exports outside the EU since the start of 2019/20 to 5.2 million tonnes, up 19pc from the same period a year earlier.

PARIS: France exported 1.2 million tonnes of soft wheat outside the European Union in December, the highest monthly volume since the start of the 2019/20 season last July, customs data compiled by Refinitiv showed on Friday.

That was above the 1 million tonnes shipped outside the EU in November, previously the highest volume of the season.

France, the EU's largest grain producer, is widely expected to increase wheat shipments this season after harvesting its second-largest crop on record.

Public farming agency FranceAgriMer projects non-EU soft wheat exports will rise to 12.4 million tonnes, up more than a quarter from 2018/19.

The December shipments took French soft wheat exports outside the EU since the start of 2019/20 to 5.2 million tonnes, up 19pc from the same period a year earlier, the data showed.

Algeria remained the largest destination for French soft wheat in December, with 504,000 tonnes shipped, followed by China, with 233,000 tonnes.

France has had an unusual run of exports to China and the December shipments took the volume this season to 640,000 tonnes.

Port loading data from Refinitiv also suggests that French wheat exports outside the EU in January were at a similar level to December in spite of strikes that disrupted rail freight and port activity.

Including shipments within the EU, France exported 1.8 million tonnes of soft wheat in December, also marking the highest monthly volume since the start of the season, the data showed.

Total soft wheat shipments to all destinations over July-December were 8.9 million tonnes, up 16pc from a year earlier.