The EU is poised to overtake the U.S. to become the world’s top wheat exporter next season as U.S. production is hit by drought. The EU is expected to see an overall small increase in wheat production of 1.56 million tons for 2014/15 to equal 144.9 million tons – the third biggest harvest on record. The output will be due in great part to production recovery in the UK which will see a 27% jump in its harvest to 15.2 million tons. The two top EU wheat producing countries, France and Germany are expected to have small decreases in output of 1.0% and 3.8% respectively. With UK domestic consumption at 14 million tons, the country should return to being a net exporter of wheat after two seasons of being a net importer, although if the Ensus and Vivergo ethanol plants ramp up production this status could change. On the importing side, Turkey’s wheat imports are forecast to increase 38% to a record 5.5 million tons because of drought and frost cutting domestic production. Drought is also causing Syrian imports to increase to a record high of 2 million tons, and Egypt, the world’s top importer will be importing 300,000 more tons of wheat than last year to reach 10.8 million tons.
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