The port of Rouen prepares to export wheat to Algeria
Nobody knows if the wheat that has not yet been marketed in mid-March will be able to come out of the Russian-Ukrainian “breadbasket”. Navigation is very risky in the Black Sea and the Sea of Azov, insurance premiums have caused cargo prices to skyrocket, damaged port infrastructure makes it impossible to load ships.
This chaos has already led some wheat buyers (such as Egypt, Morocco and Algeria…) to modify their supplies and turn to France. The Algerian national operator issued several international calls for tenders in March for the delivery in April-May 2022 of 700,000 tonnes of wheat, including 500,000 tonnes of French origin. These volumes should largely be handled by the port of Rouen, which exports 8-9 million tonnes per year out of a total of 15 million exported by France.
After examining the French ports and port silos capable of responding quickly to Algerian demand, the exporters notably contacted Senalia, the leading cereal logistics operator in Western Europe based in the port of Rouen with three silos. The operator, which has invested 40 million euros in 7 years in loading facilities, has very high speeds, 3,000 tonnes per hour.
Algerian specifications
“We were thinking of loading around 450,000 tonnes of wheat by May to Algerian ports from Rouen, which represented around fifteen ships”, announces Gilles Kindelberger, general manager of Senalia who, in 2021, achieved a figure of business of 35 million euros in turnover with 150 employees.
We are going to do Algeria again
The Norman NatUp cooperative (5,000 member farmers) is also experiencing strong activity. “For the month of April, we are going to load three times as many ships from our Simarex silo in the port of Rouen than before the crisis,” indicates Patrick Aps, Managing Director. “We are going to do Algeria again,” he adds.
“all origins except France”
This country has long been a major customer of the port of Rouen before opting for Russian wheat, both for qualitative and economic reasons – Russian wheat being cheaper – but more recently also for political reasons. In September 2021, protesting against the French State’s measure to tighten the conditions for obtaining visas for Maghreb nationals, the Algerian Interprofessional Cereals Office had included the clause “all origins except France” in part of its appeals tenders for wheat.
But the war in Ukraine has given the cards back and the Algerian operator has had to modify its specifications in a less restrictive direction. “The protein level has been reduced to 11.5 (instead of 12 previously) and the minimum specific weight to 77 kilograms per hectolitre (kg/hl) instead of 78” details Gilles Kindelberger.
“The 2021-2022 campaign is played”
But what room for maneuver does France have in the face of the Russian-Ukrainian volumes that risk being lost? “They are weak. There are only one million tonnes of wheat left in France to arbitrate between human food and other uses,” explains Pascal Gabet, regional director in Rouen of Haropa Port.
“Apart from the spring crops, the 21-22 campaign has been played out and the rotations have been made,” adds Patrick Aps, when asked about the possible levers in the face of the strong global demand for wheat which is forecast.
For farmers, the decision to grow more wheat in 2023 will be a headache. In their calculations of profitability, they have to factor in the price of wheat, which has reached peaks but is very volatile, the price of nitrogen fertilizers, which has also soared, and the new European “Farm to Fork” rules.