04/13/06 Less competition from Black Sea wheat

04/13/06 Less competition from Black Sea wheat

Farm and Ranch April 13, 2006 Weather problems with the hard red winter wheat crop in the United States isn't the only driving force behind the strength of prices for protein wheats. Louise Gartner of Spectrum Commodities in Ohio says the problems they have had in the Former Soviet Union, or Black Sea region, have also been a factor. Gartner: "We knew that Russia and the Ukraine came into the winter season with greatly reduced acreage because of dry conditions, especially the Ukraine. They only had about 1/3 of their normal winter wheat acres. And Russia was down sharply as well. Then you came in with that 30-day stretch minus 30 degree temperatures with little or no snow cover. And they expected that about 30% of the crop had winter kill. So you take two-thirds of your acres off normal and another third off that, they are looking at huge reductions in winter wheat production and they don't expect that spring wheat production will be able to make up for it." When they have the wheat to export Gartner says the Black Sea region can be cut-throat at price competition, but looking ahead to the 2006-2007 marketing year that gets underway in June; Gartner: "I really don't think we are going to see competition from the FSU this whole marketing year at all simply because they are going to have the production." Gartner says Argentina didn't have that great of a crop either. One U.S. competitor that did have a good crop was Australia. I'm Bob Hoff. That's the Northwest Farm and Ranch Report on the Northwest Ag Information Network.
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