Harvest in Poland: state of play
Poland's cereal harvest will reach a level similar to last year's, but thanks to the situation on European and world markets, Polish farmers will not have problems selling wheat - said deputy Agriculture Minister Michał Kołodziejczak.
Cereal harvests according to ODR (eng. Agricultural Advisory Centres) could be 10-20% lower in some places, and the Polish Central Statistical Office says that the harvest of staple cereals (wheat, rye, triticale, barley and oats) could be 4% lower in Poland.
According to the Ministry, however, the analysis shows that the harvest of staple cereals will reach a level similar to last year's.
“In total, we will harvest 25.5 million tons, and together with maize, whose harvest may be higher than last year, it could be 35 million tons”. - Kołodziejczak forecasts.
Approximately half of the cereals harvested in Poland will be wheat. At present, prices for this cereal range from a 800 PLN net (179 EUR) per t for feed wheat.
This year, wheat will be in demand on the market, helped in part by the situation in southern Europe, where, due to extremely high temperatures, the grain has a reduced protein content and is of lower quality. [...] Lower harvests will be in russia and Ukraine. Exports from russia are expected to be down by around 15% and from Ukraine by around 13%, which is a positive sign for Polish farmers. – Kołodziejczak said.
According to the Ministry, there will also be no problem with the surplus of maize, which will be utilised “by the developing poultry breeding and biofuel production”.
The Deputy Minister also assured that grain transit from Ukraine through Poland “is symbolic and practically non-existent”. He added that thanks to the expansion of ports in Romania, the transit of Ukrainian grain through that country has increased several times.
Kołodziejczak also referred to the cancellation of the competition for the lease of the grain terminal in Gdynia.
The company that was to manage the terminal already handles 60% of Poland's grain exports by sea. The terminal in Gdynia can ensure the export of 2 million grain, or 30% of Polish exports, and the target could be 4 million tons. [...] If KGS (Krajowa Grupa Spożywcza, eng. National Food Group) manages the terminal, we will be able to develop storage and export […] KGS is a reliable partner for Polish farmers” - concluded Kołodziejczak.
Source: PAP, MRiRW