Wheat stocks have declined in import-dependent Spain's leading grains port, but port and trade sources do not expect a supply crunch due to slow demand from livestock farmers and shipments of maize. A source in north-eastern port Tarragona estimated wheat stocks were 150,000 tonnes, down from about 200,000 a month ago. Buyers were loading 10,000 tonnes of grain a day - 2,000 of wheat - or below an average of 12,000 tonnes.
"They say domestic wheat has run out, but I don't see problems over domestic or port supplies, because consumption is certainly slowing down," the source said. "Raw materials are expensive, and to take advantage of the dioxin crisis animals are being slaughtered early for export, so you have lower herd numbers and less consumption."
German and European Union authorities are dealing with an alert which began on January 3 when German officials said feed tainted with dioxin had been fed to hens and pigs. German pork sales have dropped sharply, leaving a gap for Spain, Europe's second-largest producer.
Many pig farmers across Europe are either deeply in the red or going out of business because they have been squeezed between soaring grain costs and sluggish pork prices. Most of Spain's pig farms are based in Catalonia, the north-easterly region adjacent to Tarragona.
As animal feed makers have for weeks been shunning wheat for other products, 27,000 tonnes of Ukranian maize were unloading in Tarragona, with another 26,000 expected, compared to just 27,000 tonnes of Bulgarian wheat due to arrive. Prompt feed wheat was last quoted at 250/252 euros ($340.8-343.6) a tonne in Tarragona, while maize - which is usually more expensive - was at 238/240 euros.
Also expected in Tarragona but unconfirmed were shipments of 30-60,000 tonnes of maize from Brazil. In Spain's second-largest grains port, south-easterly Cartagena, 35,000 tonnes of Ukrainian maize were unloading. Trade sources said barley released from European Union intervention stocks to be exchanged for food aid, was heading for Spanish ports.
"They hold a tender, and whoever offers the most rice, spaghetti, or whatever, wins," a grain trader said. Reuters data show 26,000 tonnes of barley is on its way to Spain from France, while the Cartagena roster shows 29,000 of barley unloading from unspecified origins.
"Rumours that boats with food aid were arriving have meant that lower offers for barley in ports have been heard," a report from the Mercolleida agricultural exchange said."Domestic goods (barley) has also shown signs of some concessions." Spain will need to import an estimated 11 million tonnes of cereal in the 2010/11 market year to offset a structural shortfall arising from its harsh climate and poor soil.