Romania ranks as the European Union’s leading exporter of wheat and barley in the first two months of the 2024-25 marketing year, amid lower exports from the union, according to preliminary (and incomplete, in the case of France) data published by the European Commission, quoted by Economedia.

The European Union exported 4.82mn tonnes of soft wheat in the first two months of the 2024-25 marketing year, down 23% compared to the 6.25mn tonnes exported in the same period of the previous season.

In July 1 to September 8, Romania was the largest exporter of soft wheat in the EU, with a quantity of 1.72mn tonnes, followed by Lithuania (620,000 tonnes), Bulgaria (550,000 tonnes), Germany and France (both with 500,000 tonnes).

Also, in the first two months of the 2024-25 season, the bloc exported 1.32mn tonnes of barley, down 34% compared to the same period of the 2023/24 season, as well as184,023 tonnes of corn, down by 20% y/y.

For both barley and corn, Romania was the largest exporter in the EU, as it exported 824,640 tonnes of barley and 104,169 tonnes of corn in the first two months of the agricultural season that began on July 1.

However, the European Commission pointed out that the export data for France are incomplete from the beginning of the 2024 calendar year, while the export and import data for Bulgaria and Ireland are incomplete from the beginning of the 2023-24 agricultural year. 

France is the largest exporter of wheat in the EU and Bulgaria is also an important supplier of wheat.