EU: Barley, soft wheat, exports decrease in 2023/24

EU soft wheat exports so far in the 2023/24 season totaled 2.92 million metric tons as of Aug. 6, down 16% from 3.48 million metric tons a year earlier, according to the European Commission data showed on August 8.

EU barley exports fell 58% to 594,352 tonnes from 1.40 million tonnes in the same period in 2022/23, while EU maize imports stood at 1.39 million tonnes, down 33% from 2.07 million tonnes in the previous year.

These figures correspond to the marketing campaign launched on 1 July.

An analysis of EU data showed Romania was the largest exporter of common wheat to the EU in 2023/24, sending 752,351 tonnes, followed by Bulgaria with 649,387 tonnes, Poland with 635,235 tonnes, France with 428,459 tonnes and Germany was with 334,818 tons.

EU barley exports were led by France with 287,249 tonnes and Romania with 207,172 tonnes. However, France’s figure appears to lag behind actual barley shipments, which have exceeded 700,000 tonnes according to port data compiled by Refinitiv.

Regarding maize, Spain was the largest importer with 521,109 tonnes, followed by Italy with 206,619 tonnes and the Netherlands with 194,889 tonnes.

In another publication, the commission confirmed final figures for the 2022/23 campaign, which ended on 30 June, following a slight increase.

Annual exports of soft wheat stood at 31.6 million tonnes compared to 27.9 million in 2021/22, barley at 6.7 million compared to 7.1 million in 2021/22 and maize at 26.4 million compared to 16.4 million in the previous campaign.

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