Miller Magazine Issue: 118 October 2019

MILLER / OCTOBER 2019 65 COVER STORY where harvesting campaign was interrupted by rains, now resume harvesting with disappointing quality parameters with visible sprouting, significantly lower falling numbers and less than stellar sedimentation values. Ukrainian wheat and barley have been harvested in fa- vourable weather conditions. There is very little feed wheat available. Due to the deficit of feed wheat, price spread between Ukrainian 11,5% wheat and feed wheat is neg- ligible. On the other hand, spread between Russian 12,5% wheat and Ukrainian 11,5% wheat is also minimal and both origins are actively competing for their share of ex- ports on the world market. Top EU wheat producer France has enjoyed a near record yields in both wheat and barley this year with consistently good quality. According to Strategie Grains, average protein content in wheat ranges from 11% to 11,7%, which is rather good, given high yields. There are no problems with falling number. Test weight in wheat is rarely below 78 kg/hl and is sufficient for major importers. This being said, over time, test weight tends to improve, partly due to the elimination of light-weight admixture (i.e. remains of ears, chaff, weed seeds, underdeveloped ker- nels, kernels damaged by pests, broken kernels, dust, etc.), during transportation and handling. Besides, seeds shrink and become denser. Thus, test weight of the grain from under the combine bunkers and the actual test weight of handled grain inside the silo can vary. Improve- ment of test weight after processing and storage could increase by 3-5%. Max Rubner-Institut (MRI) indicates heterogeneous, yet satisfactory protein content in second largest EU wheat producer Germany, where wheat this year has general- ly lower gluten content than last year. Areas, which have experienced hot and dry growing conditions (Mecklen- burg-Vorpommern, Brandeburg, Sachsen-Anhalt and Thuringia), have lower yields and higher protein content. 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 Egyp- tian 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. Thus, Egypt to date lags behind last year’s im- port pace by some 30%. Russian wheat exports are also slower than last year. Russia is less reliant on exports than Ukraine due to the fact that Russian prices remain supported by strong domestic market and slow farmer selling. Meanwhile Ukraine is stepping up wheat exports. Since the begin- ning of the new season, Ukraine has increased wheat