Rain hits wheat price on Black Sea

“We have had considerable amounts of rain, which has impacted the gluten and hectolitre weights,” he reports.

“A new quality standards system has been introduced which means that silos and international traders can downgrade wheat to feed if the original seed certificate is not available.”

All this means a downward pressure on price – currently farmers are receiving just $105/t (£57/t) for feed wheat, while the milling price is $136/t (£74/t).

The official government reference price is $166/t (£90/t), supported by a tax on imports from other Black sea producers of 45%.

But imports are still coming into the country since farm gate prices in Ukraine are languishing at the $60/t (£33/t) mark.

“Bizarrely exports are occurring from Constanza based on contracts agreed in the spring,” says Mr Price.

“However, most of us are convinced that these “exports” will return in a few weeks time after they have spent time resting in international waters.”

Seed imports are also a problem: seed rates in Romania are about 250kg/ha, but the price of seed wheat is likely to rise to around $363/t (£198/t).

The price is driven by imported varieties from Hungary and Austria, which produce about 7t/ha, against the home-grown types which only manage around 4t/ha, says Mr Price.

“Given this we expect an explosion of imported varieties which may well result in increased production in 2005.”

If you are interested in Stephen Price‘s experiences in Romania and wish to know more, you can e-mail him, but bear in mind he will be busy during the harvest period (June to October).