Poland’s annual grain production currently stands at a surplus of between four and eight million tons, and it is this surplus that has spurred Polish grain producers to build a deepwater terminal at the port of Gdansk on the Baltic coast to modernize the industry and to export grain to African and Middle Eastern markets. The National Federation of Grain Producers planned to lease warehouses and silos at the Gdansk Northern Port which have been unfinished since the 1990s to use to export grain and to handle soybean and soybean meal imports. The Federation makes note of the fact that Middle Eastern countries are investing heavily in biofuel production and are importing large shipments of grain from Europe. This year Poland is forecast to produce a record grain crop including corn, buckwheat, and millet, of 31.8 million tons – 3.3 million tons higher than 2013. The country’s wheat harvest will be up 21% to 11.5 million tons, its triticale harvest will increase 21.6% to 5.2 million tons and its barley harvest will be up 11.5% to 3.3 million tons. Once completed, the new terminal is expected to be able to handle up to 1 million tons of grain per year with the possibility of future expansion.
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