Good News, Fresh Out Of The Baking Oven: Bread Price Stable Until Year-End

• 14pc of the wheat crop exported, remaining stockpiles sufficient for domestic consumption

Romania has sufficient wheat on stock to ensure domestic consumption without making any imports until the end of the year, according to representatives of the professional associations of wheat farmers and the milling and baking industry interviewed by BURSA.

Under these circumstances, the prices of baking products will not increase, bakers said. "The prices of baking products will not increase before the end of the year, but could increase after 1 January 2010 as other production costs could increase by that time," Rompan President Aurel Popescu told BURSA.

According to the wheat farmers, this year"s crop - which has been officially estimated at over 5 million tonnes - is sufficient for domestic consumption, which will discourage any price hikes for the time being.

Moreover, the baking industry association Rompan indicated that 14 per cent of this year"s crop had already been exported, as farmers were displeased with the prices they could get on the domestic market.

Viorel Matei, President of the National Federation of Agricultural Producers in Romania (FNPAR), believes that Romania has sufficient wheat stockpiles to last until the end of the year, the only problem being that the domestic market price was smaller than the production costs.

"We will not need any imports before the end of the year, because we have sufficient stocks. Our problem is that the price offered by domestic buyers is too low to cover the production costs. A kilogram of wheat currently sells for an average of 0.42 - 0.48 RON on the domestic market and for more than twice as much - approximately 1.1 RON - on export markets," Viorel Matei explained for BURSA.

According to the Romanian Federation of the Milling and Baking Industries - Rompan, approximately 700,000 tonnes of wheat (both fodder-grade and milling-grade wheat) from this year"s crop has already been exported, but the remaining stocks are sufficient for the domestic consumption, so no deficit is foreseen.

Rompan President Aurel Popescu explained for BURSA: "We do not have a wheat deficit on the market, and we will not have one until the end of 2009, although 60-70 per cent of this year"s crop is fodder-grade and not milling-grade. Although the situation is not so great, we have no reasons to worry yet, even though some areas are making imports."

Referring to the fodder-grade wheat, Marcel Cucu, a Member of the Board of the League of Associated Agricultural Producers in Romania (LAPAR), claims that, despite its inferior quality, fodder-grade wheat is often used as milling-grade wheat. "There should not be any problems with the wheat stocks until the end of the year, because we have sufficient quantities. When it comes to milling and baking, fodder-grade wheat is often used, too," Cucu said.