World Grain - May 2023 - 20

COUNTRY FOCUS
The rise in wheat prices, which
began in mid-2021, was not
immediately reflected in the
evolution of flour price indices,
which only increased in early 2022.
Association Nationale de la Meunerie Française (ANMF)
Crop production
France has a dominant position in agricultural production in
the European Union. With a temperate climate in the north
and a Mediterranean one in the south, the nation has a wide
variety of crops and livestock. However, cereal and wine production
continue to dominate the agricultural economy.
The mainland French territory has 56% arable land, although
that has been declining steadily since 1950 due to urbanization.
Of the 500,000 farms in France, 93% are middle
range to large-scale in size.
Wheat production in 2022-23 is estimated at 33.7 million
tonnes, according to an April 13 grain market report from
FranceAgriMer, down 5% from the previous market year. Exports
are estimated at 16.9 million tonnes, virtually unchanged
from the previous year.
Durum production is estimated at 1.34 million tonnes,
down 16% from last year, while exports are expected to reach
955,000 tonnes, a drop of 12%.
In initial estimates for the spring planting, the French Ministry
of Agriculture estimated soft wheat area will be 4.77 million
hectares, an increase of 1.7% year-over-year and stable
compared to the five-year average. The estimated planting
area of winter soft wheat is 4.75 million hectares.
Barley production in 2022-23 is estimated at 11.4 million
tonnes, down 1% from the previous market year. Exports are
estimated at 1.38 million tonnes, down 2% from the previous
year. China has become a major destination for French barley,
Elevator parts
increasing from 10% of exports in 2018-19 to 26% in 2021-22.
Spring barley planted area for 2023-24 is estimated at
488,000 hectares, a decrease of 14.2% year-over-year, the
agriculture ministry said. Total planted area for all barley is
estimated to reach 1.82 million hectares, a decrease of 2.1%.
The 2022-23 maize crop is estimated at 9.95 million tonnes,
a drop of 31% from the previous year. Exports are estimated to
drop 37% to 3.5 million tonnes. The agriculture ministry will
release its preliminary planting predictions for maize in May.
Domestic production of soybeans is limited, estimated at
407,000 tonnes in 2023, according to COCERAL. France depends
on imported soybean products for animal feed in the
livestock and poultry sectors. There is a strong demand for
protein to meet basic requirements of compound feed formulations.
" French
importers decide where to source soybean products
primarily based on price, and, to a lesser extent, on protein
content, " the FAS said.
France is the largest producer of rapeseed in the EU, with
totals estimated at 4.4 million tonnes in 2023. The agriculture
ministry estimated total rapeseed area in 2023-24 to increase
9.3% to 1.34 million hectares.
Milling sector
France is the second largest flour producer in Europe, after
Germany and ahead of Italy, and 10th largest in the world,
according to the flour milling sector's trade body, the Association
Nationale de la Meunerie Française (ANMF). The nation
has 387 mills that use 5 million tonnes of wheat to produce 3.9
million tonnes of flour per year.
In 2021, France exported 184,720 tonnes of flour, roughly
5% of production, mostly to Europe (80%), followed by Asia
(9%), Africa (4%) and the near and Middle East (3.6%). Imports
of flour are also relatively small at 243,400 tonnes in
2021, with 96% coming from the EU, especially Germany
(67%) and Belgium (12%).
Mills range in size from more than 150,000 tonnes to
less than 5,000 tonnes of capacity, with 264 in the less than
5,000-tonne category.
Conveyor chains
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May 2023 / World Grain / World-Grain.com
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World Grain - May 2023

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