EU weekly wheat sales hit new marketing year lows: EC

EU wheat exports hit new marketing year lows as 126,740 mt of licences were issued in the week to March 26, pushing total exports even lower against previous years, data from the European Commission showed.

Cumulative exports hit 14.3 million mt and are 23.2% behind where they were this time last year, as EU sellers have struggled to compete at a global level due to a strong euro and increased competition from Russia.

While a below-average 90,969 mt of barley was exported in the week, volumes remain 7.7% higher than at the same stage last year.

Corn arriving in the EU came to 335,463 mt – just above the average figure seen over the 2017/18 marketing year – with total imports up 49.6% year-on-year at 10.5 million mt.

Soybean imports came to 140,898 mt, one of the year’s smallest figures, which leaves total imports 6% behind last year at 9.3 million mt.