BARI – “With the harvest campaign in full swing, the commodity exchanges of Bari and Foggia need to return to regularly quoting our durum wheat. The drought has reduced the quantities from 40 to over 50%, but from a qualitative point of view the durum wheat that cereal growers are harvesting is excellent, with values above 13% of protein content and a specific weight of 82-83 kg/ hl. It is therefore necessary that after two weeks of “non-quoting”, the Commissions return to establishing and publishing the prices and that the latter are commensurate on the one hand with the excellent quality of the crops and on the other with the need to recognize a profitable value for producers, which takes into account the production costs incurred”. It is the provincial presidents of CIA Levante (Bari-Bat) and CIA Capitanata, Giuseppe De Noia and Angelo Miano respectively, who highlight the legitimate and sacrosanct right of farmers to see the wheat produced after months of problems, calamities, sacrifices and work quoted . “We advise farmers to deliver their grain to the storage centers of the cooperatives that aggregate the supply, in order to obtain the best possible result. There is a need for an ethical-social pact between farmers and processors to give dignity to farmers’ work”.
The last quotation of durum wheat on the Bari Commodity Exchange dates back to May 28th, when the “fino” was given a valuation of 349-354 euros per ton and the “merchant good” stood at 333-338 euros. On the Foggia Commodity Exchange, however, the last time durum wheat was listed dates back to May 29th, with 350-355 euros for the “fino” and 320-325 for the “good merchant”. “These are prices that are too low, decidedly below production costs, and in any case refer to values of protein content and specific weight that are decidedly lower than those found in the field in recent days”, specify De Noia and Miano in a note.
“We would not want anyone to indulge in opaque maneuvers and assessments that are clearly at odds with a completely evident reality regarding both the high quality of the crops and the production costs incurred by our cereal growers. Going back to quoting our durum wheat is a duty that the Bari and Foggia Commissions must not shirk. Fair and equitable assessments must be made which protect the main link in the supply chain from further and unjustified penalisations. A quotation ranging from 450 euros per ton upwards is needed. We hope that everyone’s level of attention will be as high as ours, and that no unpleasant and unfair surprises will be reserved for farmers.”
CHECKS ON IMPORTED WHEAT. Gennaro Sicolo, president of CIA Agricoltori Italiani di Puglia and national vice-president of the organization, also intervenes on the issue. “We must reiterate it forcefully: if we want wheat to continue to be sown in Italy, so as to protect one of the most important Made in Italy supply chains, then Italian durum wheat must be protected through the activation of all the measures envisaged by the Granaio package Italy, with the electronic register and more systematic controls on imported wheat. It is necessary to protect Italian and Apulian wheat and counteract the growing increase in imports from Türkiye, Russia and Ukraine. Otherwise the survival of our cereal cultivation is in serious danger. Today we are practically helpless and disarmed, while our country is a destination for wild imports. We need greater transparency on the markets and recognition of costs for Italian cereal growers. Granaio Italia is fundamental.”
