MED-Amin network

Le Plan d'action du gouvernement a placé le développement des activités agricoles productives dans un objectif visant non seulement à conforter la sécurité alimentaire du pays, mais aussi à diversifier l’économie nationale et à réduire le déséquilibre de la balance commerciale des principaux produits de base.

Dans cette perspective, ce Plan d'action du gouvernement pour la mise en œuvre du programme du président de la République, qui sera présenté mardi prochain devant l'Assemblée populaire nationale (APN), a identifié plusieurs axes pour la réalisation de ces objectifs.

Il s'agit, d'abord, de l’extension des superficies irriguées d’un (1) million d'hectares qui seront issus de la valorisation et de la consolidation du potentiel existant sur une superficie de 261.500 hectares, ainsi que de la création de nouveaux périmètres de concessions agricoles avec la mise en valeur effective de 370.000 hectares, auxquels s'ajouteront de nouveaux grands périmètres d’irrigation totalisant une superficie de 331.000 hectares.

La poursuite du développement  de l’agriculture saharienne par la création de nouveaux périmètres de mise en valeur est également prévue par la Feuille de route du gouvernement.

Les autres mesures portent sur le confortement de la protection sanitaire et phytosanitaire et le développement de la mécanisation, ainsi que la résorption de la jachère, qui doit porter à terme sur une superficie de 576.000 hectares qui seront consacrés aux légumineuses fourragères.

Barley prices appear poised to lose some of their vim, but for oats, there is potential yet for a further "rally" before harvest pressure on values begins to tell, Canada's farm ministry said.

Global barley prices "continue to hold their premium" to corn, a major rival among feed grains, "since moving higher at the beginning of March", the ministry, AAFC, said.

In Canada itself, feed barley had touched Can$185 a tonne at one point, up $25 a tonne since the end of April and trading on a par with feed wheat, said the ministry, attributing the strength in values in part to strength in livestock prices, which can exert a pull on values of feed ingredients.

Furthermore, there was a "slowdown in producer deliveries as spring seeding ramped up", with the majority of Canadian crops spring planted.

And a hangover from a wet harvest period last year had an impact too, with AAFC noting "lots of vomitoxin wheats" – that is, wheat contaminated with toxic fungal residues, encouraged by damp late-season conditions, and which can require blending with clean grain to make it suitable even for livestock feed.

The wet nature of the 2016 harvest period was reflected in an estimated 2.3m acres of last year's crop left standing as of the end of year, for harvest in spring this year, or ploughing in.

Hot and dry weather in most of Europe in recent weeks prompted consultancy Strategie Grains to cut its estimates for most grain crops in the European Union, notably barley, it said on Thursday.

The reduced outlook is the latest downward revision in forecasts for this year's harvest in European countries affected by adverse weather since early spring.

Welcome rainfall in May in many parts of western Europe allowed soft wheat yields to stabilise in France, Germany and Britain but barley yield potential struggled in Spain, Strategie Grains said in a monthly report.

It also noted that grains' growth conditions had become drier in central and eastern Europe and in northern Italy.

"Whilst it is too early to describe a situation of drought stress at this stage, the dry conditions have certainly already taken a toll on ear cereal yield potentials," it said.

This year's EU soft wheat crop is now projected at 141.6 million, down 1.1 million from last month, but still 4 percent above a revised 136.1 million tonnes in 2016, when output was curbed by a historically poor crop in top EU grower France.

The downward revision was mainly due to lower projected yields in Spain, Germany and France, Strategie Grains said.

Lower availability would directly hit EU soft wheat exports next season, with Strategie Grains now forecasting them at 24.4 million tonnes, down 1.6 million from last month's estimate.

On June 13 Egypt purchased 300 KMT of milling wheat from Russia, Romania and Ukraine with shipment during July 15–25, 2017 at an average price of USD 206.28/MT C&F. The price in the previous tender equaled USD 205.51/MT C&F, reports UkrAgroConsult.

In the previous tender, on June 10, 2017 Egypt bought 360 KMT of milling wheat from Russia and Romania with shipment during July 10–20, 2017.

More detailed information on tenders is available to subscribers for weekly market report "Black Sea Grain & Oil" by UkrAgroConsult.

 

Egypt appeared to pay a premium, but not an excessive one, for wheat as it extended its timely start to wheat purchases for 2017-18, against a backdrop of concerns over the return of controversial zero tolerance rules over ergot.

Gasc, the grain authority for Egpyt, the world's top wheat importing country, bought 360,000 tonnes of Romanian and Russian wheat at tender over the weekend, for delivery July 10-20.

The purchase extended to 540,000 tonnes the amount of the grain that Gasc has already purchased for delivery in 2017-18, at a time of year when it is typically absent from tenders, with Egypt focusing instead on stockpiling supplies from the domestic harvest.

The authority bought nearly 5.9m tonnes of wheat at tender for delivery in 2016-17, the vast majority from Romania and Russia.

Grain prices struggled to hold their ground as concerns over 100-degree temperatures in the US clashed with forecasts from a much-watched report showing bigger-than-expected stocks of corn, soybeans and wheat ahead.

The US Department of Agriculture, in its much-watched monthly Wasde briefing on world crop supply and demand, raised its estimate for world and US corn and soybean inventories at the close of 2017-18 by more than had been expected.

And while the estimate for US corn stocks was left unchanged, that defied expectations of a decline, although the forecast for world inventories of the grain did fall below the figure the market had expected.

"USDA built more supply and did not 'feed the bull' - instead, they 'fed the soybean bear' with bigger stocks both here in the US and world," said Mike Zuzolo at Global Commodity Analytics.

"US and world soybean stocks figure were bigger" than expected, said Benson Quinn Commodities.

Tremendous South America crops and a world glut of wheat have kept commodity futures trade depressed recently, but there are several trouble spots to keep an eye on from a weather standpoint. Western Canada’s Prairies are in the midst of an unusual situation with millions of acres of unharvested 2016 crops still in the fields while temperatures are cool and frequent precipitation impacts the region. Canada’s growing season is already short, but when you add harvesting last year’s crops to the farmers’ spring task list and the fact that wetter-than-usual conditions have persisted this spring it makes for an uneasy situation.

Les prix du blé bénéficiaient jeudi à la mi-journée d'un soutien dû aux conditions très sèches aux Etats-Unis.

Peu avant 12h30 (10h30 GMT), la tonne de blé regagnait 1 euro sur l'échéance rapprochée de septembre à 169,50 euros et 75 centimes sur l'échéance de décembre à 173,50 euros, dans un volume de transactions assez modeste de près de 6.500 lots.

Cette petite hausse s'inscrit dans celle des prix des céréales et oléagineux la veille à Chicago, où les cours du blé, du maïs et du soja ont progressé mercredi soir, les investisseurs se concentrant sur le temps sec et chaud dans le centre des Etats-Unis.

Le gaspillage alimentaire coûte à chaque tunisien en moyenne 68 dinars par mois, soit 18% du total des dépenses alimentaires (364d/mois), selon une enquête de terrain, réalisée par l’Institut National de la Consommation (INC). L'enquête a porté sur un échantillon de 2004 personnes réparties sur tous les gouvernorats afin de connaitre notamment, la disposition du consommateur du tunisien à gaspiller et à changer de comportement dans ce domaine.
A cet égard, environ 98,2% des personnes enquêtées ont souligné que le gaspillage alimentaire est un grand problème à éviter alors que pour 70% des enquêtés, le niveau de gaspillage alimentaire est en hausse, a affirmé à l’Agence TAP, le directeur général de l’INC Tarek Ben Jazia .
En ce qui concerne les restes alimentaires, 3,8% des enquêtés affirment utiliser ces restes dans la préparation d’autres plats, 22% consomment la totalité de leurs plats tandis que 70% de l’échantillon jettent les aliments ou les donnent à leurs animaux.

German farm co-operatives underlined the benefit to the country's wheat crop from recent rains, although the precipitation had proved less able to boost prospects for the likes of barley and rapeseed.

The Deutscher Raiffeisenverband farm co-operatives group raised by 220,000 tonnes, to 25.02m tonnes its forecast for this year's wheat harvest in Germany, the European Union's second-ranked producer of the grain.

The upgrade took the figure further above last year's result of 24.46m tonnes, and placed the DRV around the middle of market commentators.

Coceral has forecast a 24.92m-tonne crop, but the International Grains Council sees greater scope, putting it at 25.6m tonnes.

The European Commission has launched an “early warning system” which aims to detect agricultural production hotspot countries so it can mitigate the impact of drought and other disasters on food production.

The Anomaly Hot Spots of Agricultural Production (ASAP) system has been developed by the European Commission’s Joint Research Centre (JRC), its scientific arm.

ASAP will produce monthly reports which identify countries where food is insecure and agricultural production is under threat and which could need aid support, changes to development programmes or require further investigation to counter any difficulties.

The launch of ASAP comes as the European Commission looks to combat the potential disastrous fallout from drought, freak weather and other natural occurring events which can lead to crop failure and other food production woes.

It covers 80 countries, mainly in Africa, and will use observational data of the earth as well as metrological analyses.

On top of its monthly wanting reports, ASAP will produce more localised data every 10 days and crop monitoring indicators.

Link up to other global warning systems

The new system will work in tandem with existing warning systems operated by the United Nation’s such as its Food and Agriculture Organisation and World Food Programme warning systems.

It will also feed into other international mechanisms such as the Integrated Food Security Phase Classification and Crop Monitor for Early Warning.

Scientists at the JRC have been monitoring metrological data for over 20 years but the European Commission believes that the technology it uses now needs updating

In addition, they believe its data systems have been “largely unexploited” when it comes to monitoring agricultural production.

Tunisia’s state grains agency has issued an international tender to purchase some 92,000 tons of soft milling wheat and 25,000 tons of feed barley, European traders said on Tuesday.

The origin was optional. Tender deadline is Wednesday, June 14, they said.

The wheat was sought in three consignments of 25,000 tons and one of 17,000 tons.

If sourced from Europe or the Black Sea region, shipment was sought for Aug. 20 to Oct. 10. Shipment periods from other origins differ, they said.

The barley was sought in a single 25,000 ton consignment for July 15 to Aug. 5 shipment depending on origin.

Le conseil spécialisé de FranceAgriMer pour la filière céréalière s’est réuni le 14 juin 2017 sous la présidence de Rémi Haquin. À l'ordre du jour, état d’avancement et conditions de culture des céréales pour la récolte 2017, dernières prévisions pour la campagne commerciale française 2016/17 et focus sur la future réglementation concernant la production et la fertilisation des céréales en Allemagne, à l’horizon 2020/2023.

Céré’Obs : état d’avancement et conditions de culture des céréales pour la récolte 2017

Au 5 juin 2017, selon l’Observatoire Céré’Obs, les conditions de culture étaient bonnes à très bonnes pour les trois quarts des blés et des orges de printemps et les deux tiers des orges d’hiver et des blés durs semés pour la récolte 2017. 100 % des cultures d’hiver ont atteint le stade épiaison et le développement des cultures de printemps est très en avance par rapport à 2016, année atypique en raison des conditions météorologiques déplorables qui avaient sévi au printemps. 95 % des orges de printemps sont au stade épiaison contre seulement 24 % en 2016 et 77 % des maïs sont au stade 6 à 8 feuilles contre 33 % en 2016. Les conditions de culture sont bonnes à très bonnes pour 87 % des maïs. Pour l’heure, le potentiel de récolte s’inscrit dans la moyenne des dernières années, les gelées tardives du printemps ayant eu peu d’impact sur les cultures, à l’échelle de la France. Mais les pluies et les températures des semaines à venir seront déterminantes pour le bon remplissage des grains jusqu’à la récolte. Par ailleurs, le maïs arrive au stade où les conditions hydriques vont devenir prégnantes.

An Egyptian court suspended a food inspection system intended to reform trade in agricultural commodities, lawyers on the case said, sowing uncertainty again over imports of wheat in the world's largest buyer of the grain.

The inspection system was Egypt's answer to a near year-long row over stringent import requirements, including a ban on the common grain fungus ergot, a policy that halted Egypt's wheat trade last year when trading houses boycotted its state tenders.

The suspension, which government has 15 days to appeal, means the quarantine body that applied the ban will again handle the inspection process both in Egypt and abroad, though it does not necessarily imply a return to zero ergot, the lawyers said.

"I have no idea what will happen with ergot, that's for the agriculture ministry to decide," said Alaa Zaki, one of the lawyers on the case.

The new system stripped the agriculture quarantine body of its inspection powers and moved the process to the trade ministry's General Organisation for Export and Import Control (GOEIC).

Le ministère américain de l'agriculture (USDA) a légèrement revu à la hausse la production et les stocks mondiaux de blé pour la campagne 2016-2017, qui vit ses dernières semaines, vendredi dans son rapport mensuel.

La production mondiale de blé en 2016 est évaluée désormais à 754 millions de tonnes (Mt) contre 753 Mt le mois dernier, augmentant d'autant l'estimation des stocks de fin de campagne à 256,4 Mt contre 255,3 Mt.

Ces chiffres colossaux constituent plus que jamais un record, mais un record dont la prochaine récolte semble se rapprocher petit à petit, même si les estimations pour 2017-2018 restent à prendre avec précaution. Ainsi, la production mondiale est révisée à la hausse de près de 2 Mt à 739,5 MT, une hausse imputable à la Russie, dont la production a été revue à 69 Mt contre 67 le mois dernier.

« Le rapport n'a pas répondu à la principale interrogation que se pose le marché, c'est à dire "quelle production aux Etats-Unis", en blé notamment », a réagi Alexandre Boy, analyste en chef du cabinet Agritel, qui s'interroge sur une éventuelle baisse.

La prévision de la production américaine n'a en effet presque pas bougé par rapport au mois dernier, à 49,6 Mt. Alexandre Boy relève que les blés d'hiver américains ont connu des « problèmes majeurs », notamment une vague de froid importante et considère que ces chiffres « peuvent apparaître comme discutables ». « Le mois prochain, on aura beaucoup plus d'informations sur les blés américains parce que les blés d'hiver, notamment, auront bien avancé dans la moisson », a-t-il ajouté.

As part of its AMIS capacity building work, FAO released a comprehensive review of the available literature on how to build an agricultural market information system. The review discusses the rationale and background of market information systems as well as their historical evolution; key aspects to consider when designing an information system; and issues related to data collection and dissemination.

The United Nations countered bullish talk in grain markets, foreseeing "subdued" wheat prices, and "generally ample" stocks of coarse grains too, and cautioning against expectations of gains in oilseed values.

The UN's food agency, the Food and Agriculture Organization, in a twice-yearly briefing flagged "good supply prospects" for wheat, as it lifted by 2.8m tonnes to 743.2m tonnes its forecast for world output in 2017-18.

While still down nearly 17m tonnes year on year, a production outlook at that level was well above estimates from other observers such as the US Department of Agriculture, which forecasts global output at 737.8m tonnes, with the International Grains Council having a 735.9m-tonne figure.

The FAO is a little more upbeat on prospects for harvests in the likes of Russia, the top exporter, and the European Union, where "although dryness in recent months has dampened yield expectations in western areas, a year-on-year increase in the overall yield level is still forecast.

Alors que la campagne 2016-2017 entre dans sa dernière phase, il est temps de faire le point sur les charges engagées. Leur niveau dépend des prix des intrants et des volumes utilisés. Zoom sur l’évolution des prix des approvisionnements et des carburants depuis 2010.

During the International Grains Council’s (IGC) annual meeting on June 6, the council discussed the outlook for grains, rice and oilseeds based on its recently released May report. Total grains (wheat and coarse grains) production in 2017-18 was predicted to fall, although large opening inventories were seen limiting the drop in overall supplies. With contractions in the major exporters and China, world carryover stocks were projected to decline for the first time in five years, but still potentially the third largest ever. The volume of trade was projected to be second only to the previous season’s record, the IGC noted.

'indice des prix des produits alimentaires a atteint 172,6 points en mai, soit 2,2% de plus qu'en avril et 10% de plus qu'en mai 2016, a annoncé l'agence des Nations unies pour l'alimentation et l'agriculture (FAO). Le rebond des prix fait suite à deux mois consécutifs à la baisse. « Les cours de tous les produits qui composent l'indice, à l'exception du sucre, ont augmenté en mai », a souligné la FAO. L'indice FAO des prix du sucre a ainsi reculé de 2,3% et accusé ainsi son niveau le plus bas depuis treize mois.

Les cours du sucre ont fortement pâti d'une production plus importante que prévue dans la région centre-sud du Brésil, à laquelle s'est ajouté le décrochage soudain du réal brésilien, qui a découragé le broyage de canne à sucre à des fins de production d'éthanol sur le marché intérieur et a favorisé les exportations de sucre relativement plus lucratives.

Russian wheat export prices have edged higher for a third consecutive week due to persistent concerns over wheat crops in Russia and Ukraine to be harvested this summer, analysts said on Monday.

Cold weather in central Russia is delaying crop development.

Last week, Russia’s agriculture ministry downgraded its forecast for Russia’s 2017 grain crop to 100-105 million tonnes from a previous 110 million tonnes due to unfavourable weather.

Less than ideal growing conditions have Russian wheat export prices up a few dollars per tonne in recent weeks.