Miller Magazine Issue: 118 October 2019

MILLER / OCTOBER 2019 64 “Weaker euro (now Eur/USD 1,09 as compared to EUR/USD 1,14 three months ago) contributes to the increased competitiveness of EU origin wheat. Both Russian and Ukrainian origin compete fiercely with French for the Egyptian wheat imports. Romanian origin is also in the race, in spite of last year’s rejections on quality issues due to Egyptian ban on ergot, a common grain fungus. On the other hand, wheat buyers, including one of leading world importers of wheat - Egypt, are not in a hurry to step up purchases.” Grain harvest results, latest trends and developments Modern agriculture is characterized by rapid advancement of grain yields due to the evo- lution of technology and continuous improve- ment of grain handling processes. Yet, the production side of the global wheat S&D is still hard to quantify and is largely influenced by a significant unknown - Lady Weather - and the impact it has on the quantity and quality of grain crops worldwide. Over the last few years, the Black Sea region has consistently gained in importance due to the sheer weight of its global exports. Today, as we speak, the harvesting of grain is nearing the end in the Black Sea region. Mar- ket has taken note of generally good quality of wheat and barley in the main exporting areas. Winter grains in the Russian black soil region did not enjoy ideal growing conditions this crop year having to endure periods of extreme heat in May and June. Therefore, test weights in wheat and barley in the south of Russia are sometimes variable with generally better protein content, and better overall quality compared to last year. Some later maturing areas, such as Omsk, Tomsk and Altay region in Russia, Natalja Skuratovic M.S. Int. Business Management Key Account Manager Grain Business PETKUS Technologie GmbH