The thud yesterday, June 19, 2024, dated fine durum wheat – harvest 2024 – on the Commodity Exchange Foggia good 13 euros per ton compared to the last quotation for the 2023 harvest has sparked an uproar, these are values - 337-342 euros per ton – lower than production costs and absolutely out of line with one quality of the product that, right in Pugliathanks to the drought, has high numbers, with protein contents oscillating between 13% and 14%.
Read also Durum wheat, first prices of the 2024 harvest without a precise trend
Not surprisingly – yesterday Coldiretti one announced mobilization which brings representatives of the agricultural organization to meet today prefects of the capitals of Puglia, where other issues with regard to the Apulian agricultural economy will also be represented: the drought and the failure of the management of water resources and of the reclamation consortia, the unresolved issue of the refreshments Xylella.
Cia – Italian Farmers Pugliafor its part, talks about catastrophe and of “unspeakable interests that deliberately aim to undermine Italian cereal farming, favoring the uncontrolled increase in imports from countries that produce with significantly lower food safety and quality standards” to Italian ones and invites citizens to buy only pasta made with 100% semolina from Italian durum wheat.
A market about which little is known
But the reason for so much agitation is in the numbers. The data to start from is the last race for thedurum wheat exports experienced last May 22nd by Turkish Marketing Board (Tmo) – Turkish state body – for the assignment of licenses for others 75 thousand tons of durum wheat to be shipped from 6 to 28 June: on fob. price was set at 366.50 US dollars per ton, $13.50 lower than the last valid auction held last February; the successful bidder was the Casillo group.
The hammer price at auction – translated into eurocurrency at yesterday’s exchange rate – it makes little more than 341 euros per ton, while in recent days, with the slightly more favorable exchange rate, the value was around 338 euros. In the absence of official pricesit is reasonable to think that this durum wheat of Turkish origin could be marketed in Italy in a fork of 350-360 euros per ton, obviously it’s just onehypothesis and the price could be higher, taking into due consideration all the factors that contribute to its formation.
But thelast quote of national durum wheat in Foggia – harvest 2023 – was of 350-355 euros per ton, which was also the result of quite a few reductions, a grain about which even industrial millers had had a lot to say in terms of quality. Now instead a high quality durum wheat starts off on the wrong foot, just 337-342 euros.
What happened on the market is difficult to establisheven because There are no official quotes of the Turkish corn in Italy for months. A spy, however, is the decline of the premium Canadian wheat to Bari and Altamura of recent days: which drops on both markets to less than 400 euros per ton, despite being able to boast a pastaable quality rather celebrated by millers and pasta makers. What happens on the market if the must national fine durum wheat with proteins close to 15% fall – to be able to change hands – to 330 euros? And the scarcity that we talk about so much? Senza Granaio Italia and the Telematic Cereal RegisterIn reality, no one is even allowed to know what the starting data are, starting with the product offering and stocks.
Everything is even more difficult to explain by looking at the prices last Tuesday in Naples: 360-365 euros per ton for the 2024 harvest, indicated on the price list with minimum proteins at 13% true, but with a nice mark of more than 10 euros on the previous session, with 2023 durum wheat at 14% protein. And then the anger explodes and Gennaro Sicolo, president of Cia Puglia, is certainly not subtle, and parades a ring of accusations against those who are allegedly plotting to destroy cereal farming in Puglia.
CIA: “Unspeakable interests against Italian wheat”
“Quoting Italian wheat a 337-342 euros to the ton, granting it a lower value to that Canadianit’s a disturbing sign which mortifies and angers: this is how the final blow is given to Italian cereal farming and to our food sovereignty in the wheat-pasta supply chain, putting our farms against the wall and in a condition that is no longer sustainable. The quotes today at the Foggia Commodity Exchange are unacceptablebecause the grain that our farmers are harvesting has higher values at 13% protein content it’s a specific weight really relevant of 82-83 kilograms Everything is fine 100 litres“. This was stated yesterday, June 19, 2024 Gennaro Sicolopresident of Cia Puglia and national vice-president of the agricultural organization.
“It’s about values which, until two years ago, determined a price higher than 500 euros per ton – underlines the president of Cia Puglia, who underlines: “Now, however, the farmers they are not even put in a position to cover production costs. It’s a truly disastrous situationcompleted by low yields per hectare who register a decrease from 40 to over 50% and from one Drought even more frightening in prospect.”
Chew bitter Sicolo and remember: “If the appeals, the petitions, all the proposal and mediation work we have done, the farmers’ protests and the cry of alarm launched for over a year now they do not lead to any appreciable results, then we must think that there are unmentionable interests which deliberately aim to undermine Italian cereal farming, favoring theuncontrolled increase from the imports from countries that produce with food safety and quality standards that are significantly lower than ours. We cannot passively accept all this.”
Gennaro Sicolo, president of Cia Agricoltori Italiani di Puglia and national vice-president of the organisation, in denouncing the full gravity of the unstoppable decline which is characterizing the value recognized to Italian wheat, invites citizens to buy only pasta produced with only durum wheat semolina 100% Italian.
“We asked that the commodity exchanges of Bari and Foggia, after two weeks without quotations, return to determining the average price granted to Italian cereal growers for their wheat – recalls the president of Cia Puglia – We asked that the prices take full account of two factors: theexcellent quality of this year’s wheat ei production costs supported by cereal farmers. Neither of these two elements was taken into consideration. We consider this to be a very serious fact, because it constitutes damage first and foremost to thousands of farmers, and because it seriously undermines the trust that agricultural businesses they would like to be able to have towards the institutions responsible for defending rights, prerogatives, income and development expectations which directly and indirectly concern many workers and many families”.
The June 22, 2022the “until” to Foggia Goods Exchange was quoted at 575-580 euros per ton, with the following values: protein content 12%specific weight 78 kilograms every 100 litres. “Today, with higher protein values and specific weightour wheat is valued around 340 euroswith a net loss of 200 euros per ton, with yields per hectare lower than before and production costs significantly higher – underlines Sicolo.
“It’s clear that something doesn’t add up. A speculative maneuver favored by failure to start Of Granary Italy and the relative Telematic Register for which we fought and which if they had already been activated, as we have been asking for over a year, we would they would provide objective datacertificates, thanks to which quotes can be parameterised in accordance with the reality” throw fuel on the fire the president of Cia Puglia, who concludes with a mournful: “These speculative maneuvers are shameful and will end up killing Italian cereal farming.”
