French exports of wheat and barley picked up in December, supported by shipments to North Africa and the Middle East, although total exports so far this season remained well below the year-earlier level, customs data showed on Tuesday. France has been trying to hold on to export sales this season following its worst wheat harvest in three decades, which could see it overtaken by Romania and Germany as the top EU supplier to the world market.
France exported just over 361,000 tonnes of soft wheat outside the EU in December, compared with 233,000 tonnes in November. This took the volume since the start of the 2016/17 season on July 1 to 2.4 million tonnes, down 47 percent compared with the same period last season. The figures were confirmation of a relative upturn in exports, after farming agency FranceAgriMer on Tuesday revised upwards its forecast for 2016/17 French soft wheat exports outside the EU for the second month in a row.
The December data showed the first shipments of the season to Yemen and Tunisia, along with regular flows to Algeria. Including shipments within the EU, France exported 730,572 tonnes of soft wheat in December, taking the season's volume to 4.8 million tonnes, down 40 percent from a year earlier.
The customs data also illustrated, however, a sharp rise in French wheat imports this season, as the market has adjusted to tighter supply. Soft wheat imports from all destinations since July 1 had reached 636,268 tonnes by the end of December, more than double the 288,458 tonnes seen a year earlier.
The import pace suggests that FranceAgriMer may have to revise upwards its full-season import forecast of 700,000 tonnes, after leaving it unchanged again this month. In barley, French exports outside the EU reached 264,289 tonnes in December, after just 22,000 tonnes in the previous month. This brought the volume so far this season to 919,970 tonnes, down 65 percent from a year earlier.
The monthly barley shipments included a first cargo this season to Jordan, along with exports to Tunisia, Morocco, Libya and Saudi Arabia. In its monthly supply and demand update on Tuesday, FranceAgriMer raised its 2016/17 outlook for French barley exports beyond the EU, although these were still expected to drop by more than 60 percent from last season, reflecting a falling off in Chinese demand.
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