US sows 11% more winter wheat

This is according to preliminary figures published by the US Department of Agriculture USDA. The volume published by the USDA is a lot higher than analysts had expected. An average increase of 4% to 13.96 million hectares was assumed.

Soft red winter wheat

The USDA provisionally estimates an area of ​​14.95 million hectares. This means that the sown area is almost 1 million hectares larger than expected before the announcement. According to initial USDA estimates, more soft red winter wheat has been sown in particular.

Highest level in 8 years

Although the acreage of winter wheat in the US has been declining for years, there has been a turnaround since 2020. The expansion that will be realised this year will bring the area of ​​this wheat to the highest level in 8 years. Last year’s high prices have encouraged farmers in the US to sow more wheat.

Although it is not yet known how much spring wheat will be sown, it can be expected that wheat production will increase. Also because winter wheat yields more yield per hectare than spring wheat. On the other hand, sown wheat in the main growing areas in the US is affected by drought. Although the latest monitoring of the crops indicates that conditions are slowly improving.

Slightly larger wheat stocks

The USDA also announced that its estimate for wheat supplies at the end of the current season will be slightly higher than thought a month ago. A stock of 268 million tons is now assumed, which is more than 1 million tons more than the December estimate.

EU wheat

Striking changes compared to December concern the higher production figures in the European Union and Ukraine. In the EU, the production estimate has been increased to 134.7 million tons (+0.4 million tons). The harvest in Ukraine will reach 21 million tons (+0.5 million tons compared to December). The export figure for both production areas has also increased by 0.5 million tonnes. The EU’s export forecast now stands at 36.5 million tonnes, Ukraine’s at 13 million tonnes.

Sharp increase in Australian yield

USDA is not yet reacting to the sharply increased yield expectation in Australia. At the beginning of this year, a yield forecast of 42 million tonnes was published based on Australian experts. The USDA still assumes 36.6 million tons in the current forecast.