Russia surpassing EU in wheat supplies to North Africa – report

European Union wheat exports to North Africa fell by 25% in the first seven months of the 2023-2024 growing season, with Russian supplies dominating the region’s market, according to a report released by the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA).

The report was compiled using supply-and-demand estimates for April from the World Agricultural Outlook Board (WAOB) on wheat, rice, coarse grains, oilseeds, cotton, sugar, meat, poultry eggs, and milk.

According to the data, EU exports are expected to fall by 2 million tons to 34.5 million tons in April as the bloc loses market share to Russia in Africa and the Middle East.

“Russia’s record wheat supplies continue to make its exports more competitive than the EU, with unabated shipments raising the Russia export forecast 1.0 million tons this month to a record 52.0 million tons,” it stated.

Algeria, one of the EU’s top three export destinations that has historically relied on EU wheat, has been “captured” by Russia after the North African nation’s government sought to diversify bread wheat suppliers, according to the USDA. Over the past five years, the EU has held an 85% market share in Algiers, it added.

“Russia wheat exports to Algeria have since expanded significantly. With Algerian millers indicating satisfaction with Russian supplies, Russia and the European Union have battled for majority market share so far this year,” the report said.

In February, the Rusagrotrans analytical center ranked Algeria fifth among the top Russian wheat importers. Moscow exported 1.6 million tons of wheat to Algeria during the 2023-24 crop year – a 20% increase over the previous season, according to the institution.

Earlier this month, Eduard Zernin, the head of the Russian Union of Grain Exporters, told pole.rf magazine that Russia’s share of the global grain market would exceed 25%. The country’s reliance on its three largest importers – Türkiye, Egypt, and Iran – will decrease as supplies to new markets grow, he said.

Egypt, one of the world’s leading wheat importers and Russia’s largest grain buyer, has proposed hosting an international logistics hub for grain in the Suez Canal zone. The North African country and Moscow are in talks about building the facility, which would connect to one of the world’s busiest waterways and be used to store Russian wheat and distribute it to neighboring nations.