INTERVIEW-France could export 2 mln T wheat to Egypt-Granit
By Valerie Parent
English
(c) 2009 Reuters Limited
PARIS, Nov 20 (Reuters) - French wheat exports to Egypt could reach 2 million tonnes in 2009/10 after a good start to the campaign and should be able cope with stricter controls by Egypt, the head of grain trading firm Granit said. Moves by Egypt, the world's largest wheat importer, to tighten the terms of its international tenders have become a burning issue this year for grain traders in major exporting countries like France, Russia and the United States.
Attention has centred on a dispute over the quality of Russian wheat cargoes that has led to a slowdown in shipments to Egypt out of Russia in the current campaign [ID:nLU264698], helping boost French exports.
"With just over 1 million tonnes already sold, we're on track to reach 2 million," Jean-Philippe Everling, director of Granit, said of French wheat exports to Egypt this season.
Egypt's main state buyer, GASC, has bought 2.71 million tonnes of foreign wheat since the start of the 2009/10 campaign on July 1, and Everling estimated at just over 2 million tonnes GASC's import needs for the remainder of the season.
"We're also banking on a scarcity of Russian offers meeting the 1 percent bug damage limit," he told Reuters on the sidelines of a wheat conference on Thursday.
The requirement for wheat imports to have no more than 1 percent bug damage, compared to 2 percent accepted previously, is among tougher criteria being applied by GASC and could hinder offers of Russian grain which are more affected by bugs than rival origins. [ID:nLH99067]
EGYPTIAN INSPECTORS IN FRANCE
Russia dominated wheat shipments to Egypt last season, claiming some 4 million out of 5 million tonnes bought by GASC. But the legal saga over Russian wheat cargoes plus the tougher policy on bug damage have slowed shipments since May.
All exporters are facing extra constraints in the shape of requirements to pay for Egyptian inspectors to control cargoes at the port of origin, for shipments to be in 55,000-60,000 tonne cargoes rather than 30,000 tonne ships often seen from Russia, and for consignments to be loaded at one port only.
The single-port condition would rule out France and Europe's leading grain port of Rouen, which cannot fully load Panamax ships with volumes of 55-60,000 tonnes.
This would force operators to use the sea ports of Dunkirk in northern France, which has a much smaller grain hinterland than Rouen, and La Pallice on the Atlantic coast, where grain prices are traditionally higher.
The requirement to load from a single French port could add $3 to $8 a tonne in costs while the visit of Egyptian inspectors may bring an extra $0.30-0.40 a tonne, Everling estimated.
In its latest tender on Thursday, GASC bought 175,000 tonnes of wheat, including 60,000 tonnes of French wheat from Granit at $198.65 a tonne, 60,000 tonnes of Russian wheat from Louis Dreyfus at $196.50 a tonne and 55,000 tonnes of German wheat at from Cargill $196.50 a tonne. [ID:nLJ444102]
Exporters were ready to absorb these extra costs in order to win business, said Everling, who also welcomed the arrival of Egyptian inspectors.
"This will have a cost but it's clear we have nothing to fear from the presence of inspectors. We'd rather the agricultural quarantine services came here to certify our wheat is suitable."
The biggest concern for French exporters would be shipment delays caused by organising the inspection visits, he said, adding traders would lobby the French foreign ministry to ensure visas could be obtained rapidly for the inspectors.
(Writing by Gus Trompiz; Editing by Angus MacSwan)
WHEAT-EGYPT (INTERVIEW)|LANGEN|ABN|C|GRO|MD|MTL|SOF
22.11.2009, 34856 просмотров.
