POLAND, UKRAINE REACH DEAL ON GRAIN TRANSIT
Poland, Ukraine, and Lithuania have reached an agreement to facilitate the transit of Ukrainian agricultural products through Poland to third countries by transferring product inspections from the Polish border to a Lithuanian port. “Over the next two days, veterinary, sanitary, and phytosanitary control will be transferred from the Ukrainian-Polish border to the port of Klaipeda (Lithuania) for all agricultural cargoes heading to this port. This will speed up transit through Poland,” Ukraine’s Ministry of Agrarian Policy and Food said.
The agreement was reached by Minister of Agrarian Policy and Food of Ukraine Mykola Solskyi, Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development of Poland Robert Telus, and Minister of Agriculture of Lithuania Kęstutis Navickas during a regular online meeting on Oct. 2. Ukraine has been struggling to export its grain since Russia’s February 2022 invasion and subsequent blockade of its ports. Poland, Slovakia, and Hungary have extended their import bans on Ukrainian grain, which they say flooded their markets and depressed prices, but continue to allow the transit of Ukrainian agricultural goods to third countries.
(Link: WorldGrain)
ALGERIA WHEAT, AND BARLEY PRODUCTION HOLDING STEADY
According to a report from the US Department of Agriculture’s Foreign Agricultural Service (FAS), Algeria’s wheat and barley production is expected to hold steady in 2024-25. Production in 2024-25 is expected to be in line with the current market year totals of 2.7 million tonnes of wheat and 1.02 million tonnes of barley. The total wheat area is estimated at 2 million hectares for the entire country for both the current and forecast marketing years. Farmers were expected to start sowing the 2024-25 wheat and barley crop at the end of September, FAS said.
Wheat imports are estimated at 8.7 million tonnes for 2023-24 based on lower harvest and increased import demand. Algeria is a leading consumer of wheat in North Africa, surpassed only by Egypt. For 2023-24, wheat consumption will eclipse 11 million tonnes and will rise just slightly in 2024-25.
(Link: WorldGrain)
