Wheat: The weather has turned harsh
March 21, 2018 at 12:02 PM ,
Starry Night Ltd.
BULGARIA. Just a week ago, at almost the end of the winter season, farmers within the general North regions were quite satisfied by the ample moisture reserves in the soil and the overall good state of their crops. During the Winter, fields throughout the country got the necessary water reserves – in places even more than enough – even though the season could be characterized as snowless, with the exception of heavy snowfalls two weeks ago throughout the whole country.
Wheat: weather as a two-edge sword
Yet, farming is an open factory under the sky and the weather is the major external factor that could turn the wind in opposite direction precisely in any moment. The recently settled drastic shifts in weather conditions have been a warning signal for farmers. Sudden changes in temperatures are too stressful for the grains to adapt during their current development stages. In the Northeast and central North regions, farmers complained of wet snow, which accompanied by low temperatures, uncompromisingly damages crops. Till the end of the week, the prevailing weather conditions throughout the country will be characterized by snowfalls, showers and low temperatures while time periods of clear skies will be rare.
Unquenched foreign demand has driven exports high
According to local farmers within the general North regions, harvest 2017-18 was characterized not only by a higher yield, but also by much better-quality characteristics of the grains. As a result, exports kicked-in strongly early in the marketing season, pushing the rate to its highest in recent years. Indeed, feed wheat is difficult to find on the market for exports. By the 16th of March 2018, total shipped volumes abroad reached 3.7 mmt.
|
Harvest 2017-18 (01.07.2017 - 16.03.2018) units in MT |
|
|
Beginning availability |
179,000 |
|
Aggregate output |
5,900,000 |
|
Imports |
53,952 |
|
Domestic consumption |
1,264,000 |
|
food |
702,000 |
|
feed |
358,000 |
|
Seeds |
180,000 |
|
industrial usage |
24,000 |
|
Exports to the world |
3,704,910 |
|
to EU markets |
3,181,214 |
|
to rest of the world |
523,696 |
Source: Bulgarian Ministry of Agriculture
Although competitive pressure within the Black sea basin has always exerted pressure on local export trades – the same is the case with other grains such as barley and corn, for instance – the ample supply in the region has drastically pushed down exports to non-EU markets on a yearly basis while those to EU markets have been undefeatable. Local sentiments forecast the strong foreign demand to keep its momentum unfaltering for now, which quite well might lead this year’s total exports to top those of last season - 4.1 mmt or the highest export figure during recent years.
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