With wheat prices skyrocketing, Italian farmers rushed to sow this year. But now that the cereal rally has slowed down and prices have begun to stabilize, if not to fall, someone is beginning to worry: “If the price of durum wheat falls below 50 euros per quintal, producers will have to sell at a loss. without even obtaining the production costs », says Gennaro Sicolo, president of Cia Puglia and vice president of Cia Agricoltori Italiani. The association asked Donato Pentassuglia, Councilor for Agriculture of the Puglia Region, the urgent convocation of a cereal table that brings together the entire supply chain, from producers to millers and pasta makers.
In the session of Wednesday 31 August, durum wheat prices on the Foggia stock exchange recorded a decrease of 20 euros per ton for organic products and 25 euros for all other varieties. “On average this year the producers have spent from 1,200 euros upwards for each hectare cultivated with durum wheat – remembers Angelo Miano, president of Cia Capitanata – with yields that have been between 20 and 25 quintals of wheat per hectare, the the cereal supply chain shows signs of serious suffering. Should the prices paid to the producers still fall, many will find themselves forced to decide not to re-sow for next season ».
The international scenario feeds the fears of Italian farmers: although the International grains council has revised downward the forecasts on world durum wheat production of the current campaign due to the worsening of harvests in Algeria and the EU, world harvests will still be higher by 7 % on an annual basis, thanks to the huge rebound of production in Canada. And the increased availability of raw materials, of course, contributes to the cooling of prices.