LONDON: UK wheat exports fell off dramatically in what appeared a sign of supply tightness, spurred also by surprisingly strong feed use of the grain, which has helped keep prices relatively firm.
The UK, the European Union’s third-ranked wheat growing country, shipped 145,437 tonnes of wheat in October, the fourth month of the 2016-17 marketing year, customs data showed. The figure represented a marked slowdown after a strong start to the marketing year, with shipments in the July-to-September period, at a total of more than 713,000 tonnes, setting off at their fastest pace in six years.
October’s exports were 42% below those a month before, besides being 31% down year on year. And the October decline might prove even bigger, depending on how a data anomaly is resolved, with the month’s figure including a shipment of 25,435 tonnes to Italy which appears more than twice the total indicated by rolling customs data, a person familiar with the situation told Agrimoney.com.
