Wheat exports in the first half of the 2021/22 cereal marketing year were a record both in volume and value, and their main destination was African countries, indicated the Rosario Stock Exchange (BCR).
In this way, the exports registered between December and May totaled 12.7 million tons, a record volume for that period, for a total amount of US$ 3,740 million, also historical and well above the previous records for that period, product of high international prices.
in volumethe jump in dispatches was considerable, with an iIncrease close to 80%which represented an increase in shipments of approximately 5.7 million tons.
In fact, “except for the 2016/17 campaign, when 12.8 million tons of grain were exported, the volume exported between December and May of the current commercial cycle is higher than that exported in the entire campaign considering previous years” , indicated the stock market entity.
As for the US$ 3,740 million that entered through shipments, a figure that also became an absolute record, more than doubled the US$ 1,500 million exported in the first half of 2020/21 and US$ 1,650 million was positioned for above the previous record set in the 2007/08 business cycle.
As for the destinations, there was a change in trend.
Yes ok Brazil remained the main buyer of Argentine wheat shipments, receiving 2.6 million tons, “a marked growth of Africa in the participation of cereal shipments can be appreciated.”
According to the maritime agency Nabsa, in the first semester about 5.9 million tons were shipped to the african coasts, almost triple what was dispatched in the first half of the previous year and hoarding 46% of the volume shippedwhen a year ago the share was 31%.
“Usually, due to geographical proximity, the countries of Africa usually receive wheat from Russia or Ukraine, especially the countries of the sub-Saharan north. However, it is evident that the armed conflict that is taking place between the two countries, added to the greater Argentine production in the current campaign has opted for several of these countries to opt for the Argentine cereal,” explained the BCR.
The Asian countries also grew as a destination for Argentine cereal, since between December and May se exported more than 2.3 million tons, above the 1.1 million dispatched in the same period of the previous year.
However, in percentage terms, there is no increase in Asia’s share of total exports, with growth of only one percentage point to 18%.
Among the main Asian countries that receive Argentine wheat, Indonesia, with more than 1.5 million tonswhile in the same period of the previous cycle, 360,000 tons had been shipped to that country.
