- In Europe, production of durum wheat is declining and imports of this cereal are increasing.
- The EU has so far imported durum wheat mainly from Russia, but also from Canada and Turkey.
- Kazakhstan is now becoming the leader in durum wheat exports to Europe, breaking records for supplies of this grain to the EU.
- In the first half of July, more than half of Europe’s durum wheat imports came from Kazakhstan.
What is the situation for durum wheat imports in Europe?
Durum wheat production in Europe continues to decline. It is likely to reach its lowest value since 1993. However, the European Union and its member countries such as France, Greece and Italy are still on the durum wheat producer podium. Nevertheless, a large proportion of the grain is exported from other countries – in the case of durum wheat, there is an increase in imports of up to 30%. The world’s leading exporters for years have been Canada and countries in western Asia. Much of the EU’s durum wheat used to be imported from Russia, but this is now no longer the case as a result of sanctions imposed on the country in connection with the war in Ukraine. Russia’s place as an exporter of durum wheat to Europe is being taken by other countries such as Kazakhstan. Italy is the main importer – in this country durum wheat is widely used for pasta production.c
Kazakhstan grows stronger as durum wheat exporter to Europe
Turkey’s durum wheat exports increased significantly in the second half of last year. Kazakhstan also surprised farmers by moving up from 7th to 4th place on the list of the largest exporters of durum wheat to Europe, increasing shipments of the grain to the EU tenfold – from 17,000 tonnes in 2022 to almost 170,000 tonnes 2023 in the July-November period. The latest figures as of 15 July show a further increase, placing Kazakhstan already in third place. The country shipped 19,062,000 tonnes of durum wheat to Europe between 1 and 14 July, accounting for 68.5% of the EU’s total imports of the grain. During the same period last year, Kazakhstan shipped 10341 tonnes of durum wheat to the EU, accounting for 26.5% of imports. Turkey is currently second with 7,704 thousand tonnes of wheat and Canada with 1,043 thousand tonnes.
