Buenos Aires, October 30th. The wheat milling industry processed 416,577 tons during September, a 14% less volume than in September 2017 and also 14% below August 2018. In fact, this volume is the lowest for a September month from 2013, when the milling industry processed 371.583 tons of wheat. The accumulate milling (Jan – Sep) reaches 4.1 million metric tons, 4% below the last year; in fact during the current year, only in January and April, the milling was above 2017.
This industry faces a complex scenario. During the winter, the wheat price in the spot market surpassed 30 to 40 dollars per tonne the international reference. “This was determinate to get us out as suppliers of flour from Brazil, Bolivia, and Chile”, a miller said in a dialogue with www.eFarmNewsAr.com.
The statistics from the Ag-Industry Secretariat shows that from March to September 2018, milling industry exported 228,339 tons of flour, a 22% below 2017 exports.
The country had an excellent wheat harvest in the 2017/18 season, around 18.5 MMT. But traders took advantage of the industry, buying the cereal for exports business and drying the local place of wheat; consequently, the price in the spot market rose above the Chicago Board of Trade reference.
But this didn’t be the only factor that harming the industry. The Argentine economy slump affected the purchasing power of the consumers and this derived in a minor flour demand. “The wheat rose from AR$3,000 per tonne to AR$9,000 in a few months and this translated into a weak demand”, miller Carlos Marino said to www.eFarmNewsAr.com.
Off the record, the first source opined that Argentine Government doesn’t take care of the milling industry. “They permitted exporters to register all the wheat they want, no matter if there was sufficient raw material for the industry. Even, officials from the Government told us they didn’t see a problem to import flour if the wheat price was too much expensive for us”, the source told to eFarm.
But the beginning of a new harvest opens new hopes for the millers. The wheat prices are down and the stabilization of the currency after a 100% devaluation opens better expectations.
