With a war blocking Ukrainian wheat exports and increasing the price of food around the world, the global wheat harvest is facing an additional test: extreme weather.
According to a report fromBloomberg, droughts, flooding and heatwaves threaten outputfrom the U.S.to France andIndia, compounding shrinking production in Ukraine.
Just about every major producing region is facing one threat or another. The one exception is Russia, which is experiencing a bumper crop and stands to benefit from the rising prices and limited supply elsewhere.
Wheat crops hit hard around the globe
China’s winter wheat harvest next month is one of the big uncertainties in a global economy already struggling with high commodity prices, particularly in regions heavily dependent on crops from Russia and Ukraine, reports theNew York Times.
AndReutersreports that Argentina’s wheat harvest for the 2022/23 season is expected to be around 19 million tonnes, down from the 22.1 million tonnes harvested in the previous season, the Rosario Grains Exchange (BCR) said on Wednesday.
Farm office FranceAgriMer on Wednesdaylowered its forecast of French soft wheat exportsthis season, citing ebbing international demand, while warning rain was urgently needed to avoid damage to cereal crops ahead of this summer’s harvest.
USDA Global Crop Report
Grain traders are focused on the release of the monthlyU.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) global cropreport due on Thursday. It will include the first official supply and demand estimates for 2022/23, the new crop year.
The report will also update forecasts for Ukraine’s crop exports after Russia’s invasion and for production in drought-affected regions such as Brazil and the European Union.
