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Activity at France’s main grain export hub of Rouen dipped by 63% the week to February 8, with only 39,700 tonnes of wheat loaded, data from the port’s operator Haropa showed Thursday, February 9.
This was most likely a result of national strike action against planned pension reforms held between February 7-8 in France, which halted loading in French ports.
During the reporting week, wheat loading volumes from Rouen included 28,500 tonnes going to West Africa, 9,900 tonnes to Spain and 1,300 tonnes to the United Kingdom.
Port line-up data showed that 3,861 tonnes of malt barley was shipped with the full volume heading to the Netherlands.
In addition, 5,000 tonnes of rapeseed was also shipped to Spain.
Separate data from the French Atlantic port of La Pallice showed two ships of wheat scheduled for shipment, with 9,000 tonnes destined for West Africa and another for a volume of 6,300 tonnes, with its destination currently unknown.
Alongside that, two ships of barley were also recorded, the first loading of 15,000 tonnes destined for China and the second volume also for 15,000 tonnes with a destination yet to be announced.
Finally, a single shipment of 3,100 tonnes of corn destined for West Africa was also reported in the line-up.
France exported 7.79 million tonnes of wheat to countries outside the European Union between the start of the marketing year on July 1 and February 6, according to delayed data from the European Commission.
French exports of soft wheat were 32.8% more than last year’s figure.
Agriculture agency FranceAgriMer expects the country to export 10.6 million tonnes of wheat outside the EU (up 21% year-on-year) and 6.64 million tonnes to other EU member states (down 17% year-on-year) through the current marketing year.
*The Commission collects customs data from EU countries, which may lag behind port data.
For more information on the current wheat market, take a look at our dedicated page for wheat price forecasts.