France: French wheat hit by quality problems, barley decent
Grain group Soufflet said on July 12 that much of the new-crop soft wheat and durum wheat in France was showing weak quality results after a rain-affected harvest, Nasdaq reported.
Heavy summer rain has slowed harvesting in France and other European Union countries, leading to some low readings for quality criteria that determine wheat's suitability for milling.
For soft wheat, the main setback was in test weights, with only 35% of crop collected by Soufflet in France reaching the milling standard of 76 kilos per hectolitre (kg/hl), Francois Berson, the group's head of crop procurement, said.
"This is going to be the number one problem for soft wheat," Berson said of test weights in a video update.
Half of incoming soft wheat was showing test weights of 72-75.9 kg/hl, with the remaining 15% under 72 kg/hl. Levels were likely to decline further as the latest arrivals following the resumption of harvesting were under 70 kg/hl, he said.
Hagberg falling numbers, another wheat quality measure, were less of an issue than previously thought, while yields remained in line with the average of recent years, he added.
Soufflet, which this year agreed to be acquired by cooperative group InVivo, is one of France's biggest grain handlers.
The company was managing to fulfil contracts to supply milling wheat to France's main grain port of Rouen, but it would take time for the market to establish outlets for lower-quality wheat, he said.
Durum wheat, the variety used in pasta, was frequently showing poor Hagberg falling numbers below 150, prompting Soufflet to seek various outlets to market the crop, Berson said.
Spring barley quality, which determines its suitability for making beer ingredient malt, remained satisfactory, he added.
Înapoi
(libra 1.3984 sec.)