Friday, June 9, 2023
HomeFoodRussia talks of record wheat crop while world mulls output fall

Subscribe

To our FREE newsletter
Get all the latest maritime news delivered straight to your inbox.

Russia talks of record wheat crop while world mulls output fall

Russia could be on course for a record wheat crop this year, strengthening the role of the world’s biggest wheat exporter at a time when its invasion of Ukraine may help to trigger the first decline in global production since 2018-19.

The US Department of Agriculture projected a 5 million mt fall in global wheat production for the marketing year 2022-23 (July to June). Its World Agricultural Supply and Demand Estimates released May 12 showed global wheat output at 774.8 million mt.

Improved Russian yields

The USDA is expecting Russian production at 80 million mt for MY 2022-23, up from 75.16 million mt, with a 7% improvement in yield outweighing a small decline in the planted area. It expects winter wheat to represent just under three quarters of the upcoming crop. The winter crop for MY 2021-22 suffered high levels of winterkill as a result of ice crusting, but the USDA said that this was less likely to affect the upcoming crop since satellite images showed “minimal periods of freeze/thaw/freeze events.”

Prospects for the Russian crop were supported by favorable moisture in April, the USDA said, but it warned that “yield development will largely depend on May and June weather.”

The USDA’s estimate is below that of the Russian government, whose president Vladimir Putin on May 12 raised the prospect of a record crop in 2022, exceeding the 85.9 million mt from 2020. Putin told economic officials in Moscow that the government currently expects 87 million mt of wheat to be harvested.

This figure is similar to agricultural consultancy Sovecon’s estimate of 87.4 million mt in its April update. “Plants look good (almost) all over the country,” said its head Andrey Sizov.

The Russian government’s official numbers include the territory of Crimea, unlike the USDA’s. The Ukrainian government’s statistics also exclude Crimea and the conflict zones in the regions of Donetsk and Luhansk.

Ukraine’s wheat production to fall 35%

By contrast, the USDA forecast that Ukraine’s wheat production will fall to 21.5 million mt for MY 2022-23 from 33.01 million mt in the previous year. That reflects a 21% drop year-on-year in the harvested area and an 18% decline in the yield.

The country’s total planted area for wheat covers 6.84 million hectares and is most dense in the east of the country, where Russian troops are present. In the conflict areas, the USDA estimates that 30% of the crops will be destroyed or abandoned as a result of mines, bombing and fuel and labor shortages.

The USDA said that satellite imagery in autumn 2021 showed lower-than-average levels of green vegetation due to dryness in October when the crop was emerging. The department also said that it expects the deterioration in yield to follow a similar pattern set in 2020, when supply chain issues forced farmers to cut back on the use of mineral fertilizers in the pandemic.

Source: Platts

Related Posts

Video

Finance & Economy
Shipping News
Ports

Trafigura publishes 2023 interim results showing a strong performance

Trafigura, a market leader in the global commodities industry, released its 2023 Interim Report today for the six-month period ended 31 March 2023. The results...

Globus Q1 results hit by weak dry bulk market

Globus Maritime Limited, a dry bulk shipping company, reported its unaudited consolidated operating and financial results for the quarter ended March 31, 2023. Revenue $8.6 million...

BW LPG appoints new CFO

BW LPG announced that it has appointed Ms Samantha Xu as Chief Financial Officer (CFO), effective 1 September 2023. Ms Xu has over 20 years...

Frontline Posts Highest First Quarter Results Since 2008

Frontline plc reported unaudited results for the three months ended March 31, 2023: Highlights Highest first quarter profit since 2008 of $199.6 million, or $0.90 per...

Diana Shipping posts slightly lower Q1 profit; takes out $123m in loans

Diana Shipping reported net income of $22.7 million and net income attributed to common stockholders of $21.3 million for the first quarter of 2023....

Celestyal Participates In Promotion Of The Tourist Destination Of Central Macedonia

Celestyal, the award-winning, number one choice for travellers to the Greek Islands and the...

Capesize, panamax gains drive Baltic index higher

The Baltic Exchange’s main sea freight index rose for a fourth straight session on...

Baltic rises to over 3-month peak on firm demand for larger vessels

The Baltic Exchange’s main sea freight index rose on Wednesday to scale its highest...

Baltic index logs best day in nearly 3 months

The Baltic Exchange’s main sea freight index posted its biggest single-day gain since mid-March...

Taiwan Shipping Firms Set to Hand Out Bumper Bonuses Again

Taiwanese shipping companies are handing out bumper mid-year bonuses despite a slump in global...

Iraklio port tender set for another delay

The opening of the binding financial offers for 67% of Iraklio Port Authority had been scheduled for Thursday, but this is no longer expected...

APM Terminals extends concession of Kalundborg container terminal

APM Terminals has reached an agreement with the Port of Kalundborg to extend the concession of Kalundborg container terminal by 10 years to 2033. In...

US West Coast port workers shut terminals in showdown over pay

The employers of more than 22,000 dock workers at U.S. West Coast seaports on Friday said the union representing those laborers “is staging concerted...

DP World Completes Terminal Expansion Project Vancouver Port

DP World has completed the AED954 million ($259.78 million) Centerm expansion project, increasing container throughput at the Port of Vancouver by 60 percent. The terminal...

DP World completes AED 954 million Vancouver port expansion

DP World and the Vancouver Fraser Port Authority have celebrated two historic events – the completion of the Centerm Expansion Project at DP World...