The drought and wildfires in eastern Europe have destroyed about one-fifth of Russia's wheat crop, and subsequently Russia's Prime Minister Vladimir V. Putin announced a ban on grain exports. This situation raised fears about a possible food crisis, but experts say that there is no reason to fear a global shortage. To read a US Ag&Food Law and Policy blog post on this issue, click here.
Private exporters in the US "reported the sale of 120,000 tonnes of U.S. wheat, mainly to China and Egypt" according to USDA. As a result of this boost, "wheat futures are up 66 percent from the June low of $4.25 a bushel despite losses since the market fell from a two-year peak on Friday."
"World wheat production was expected to come in at 650.02 million tonnes, down from the USDA's July forecast of 661.07 million tonnes."
To read the Reuters story, click here.
Posted: 08/11/2010
