According to figures from the European Commission, wheat exports from the EU are now projected to total 36 million tonnes for the 2022–23 marketing year, which ends on June 30. This would still be a record level and be more than the 33.5 million t that the US Department of Agriculture had predicted.
Despite predictions for stronger domestic wheat production—now projected at 127 million tonnes, up from 125 million tonnes estimated in July—the negative revision occurred.
However, this is consistent with declines in the wheat crop of the Union's competitiveness, as since August, the Middle East and North Africa have shifted more of their market share from France, Romania, and Bulgaria to Ukraine, whose supply has become more readily available.
The change is also in line with projections of increased domestic demand for wheat in the animal feed sector. Wheat consumption for animal feed in the EU is now predicted to reach 40 million t, up from the prior estimate of 37.3 million t, as a result of the region's subpar corn output.
Further, the EU corn
Imports are already running at record highs, with 7.37mn t of crop received on 1 July-2 October, according to provisional commission data, compared with 3.77mn t over the same period a year earlier.
