Forecast for French wheat exports increased due to demand from North African countries

French farm office “FranceAgriMer” upped its forecast of French soft wheat exports outside the European Union this season on Wednesday for the second consecutive month, citing high demand from North Africa, notably Morocco.

The office is now forecasting a volume of 10.6 million tonnes, which is 21% more than what was predicted in December (10.3 million tonnes).

According to Reuters, it had previously boosted the prediction by 300,000 tonnes last month, citing strong demand driven by Morocco and China.

In January, France’s export program remained active, with traders mentioning new sales to Morocco and shipments for Algeria that were previously anticipated to come from other nations.

FranceAgriMer expected French soft wheat stockpiles at the conclusion of the 2022–23 season on June 30 to be 2.33 million tonnes, down from the 2.55 million tonnes projected in December, in its monthly supply and demand outlook for main cereal crops.

Although anticipated exports to the EU were reduced from 6.73 million tonnes to 6.64 million tonnes, the forecast demand for soft wheat in livestock feed climbed by 50,000 tonnes to 4.35 million tonnes.

In September 2022, Yann Lebeau, chairman of the Moroccan region at France’s wheat experts association Intercereales, stated that Morocco’s soft wheat imports are likely to be between 4.5 million and 5 million tonnes the following year.

However, as reported by Reuters, two Moroccan industry sources claimed that the country’s current soft wheat reserves are sufficient to meet its needs for up to five months.

They added that efforts to build additional stockpiles were hampered by higher prices on the global market compared to levels in 2021.