June 07, 2011

Wheat rallying 20 percent as parched fields wilt from China to Kansas

The worst droughts in decades are wilting wheat fields from China to the US to the UK, overwhelming Russia’s return to grain markets and driving prices to the highest levels since 2008. Parts of China, the biggest grower, had the least rain in a century, some European regions are the driest in 50 years and almost half the winter-wheat crop in the US, the largest exporter, is rated poor or worse. Inventory is dropping 8.8 percent, the most in five years, Rabobank International says. Prices will advance 20 percent to as high as US$9.25 (UK£5.62) a bushel by December 31, a Bloomberg survey of 14 analysts and traders shows.

Wheat as much as doubled in the past year as crops failed, spurring Ukraine and Russia to curb shipments and increasing the US share of global sales by the most since 2004. Russia ending its export ban on July 1 and Ukraine lifting quotas may not be enough as crops wither elsewhere, fuelling gains in food prices which the United Nations says are already near a record. Read more ...

This blog is written by Martin Little, The Global Miller, published and supported by the GFMT Magazine and the International Milling Directory from Perendale Publishers
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