U.S. Wheat Exports Set to Overtake Russia as Global Leader
1 June 2017 Government numbers show that the U.S. will regain its position as the world’s largest wheat exporter for the first time in three years, stealing back the title from Russia.
The fight to lead world wheat exports is always heated, with suppliers including the U.S., Russia and Canada jockeying for position. American shippers were at a disadvantage after several years of stronger dollar. Now, with the greenback in decline, U.S. supplies are cheap enough that Egypt, the top importer, bought two cargoes in a tender last week.
“Last week’s tender was kind of a watershed event,” said Matt Connelly, a grains analyst at The Hightower Report in Chicago. “I don’t know if Egypt’s going to be coming back consistently, but if they do and if the U.S. is included in the next tender, it should tell the market that we’re here to stay.”
The U.S. will ship 28.2 million metric tons of wheat in the season that’s about to end, 34 percent more than a year earlier, the U.S. Department of Agriculture estimates. That will propel the nation’s overseas sales to surpass Russia’s, forecast at 28 million tons. A stronger euro and poor crops are also making supplies from the European Union less competitive.
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