UK wheat exports picked up in March but are still running 9.7 percent below last year, customs data showed on Wednesday. Grain exporters shipped 219,341 tonnes of wheat overseas in March, up from 164,866 tonnes in February. Wheat exports for July-March (2006/07) were 1,704,610 tonnes, down from 1,887,114 in the same period last season.
Exports to Spain, Britain's most important export market, almost doubled during March to 141,548 tonnes from 72,884 in the previous month. For the season to date, shipments to Spain were 920,476 tonnes, down 20.6 percent from 1.16 million tonnes in the July-March period in 2005/06. Spanish traders have cited an improved domestic harvest and substantial stocks as contributing to the drop.
The decline was partially offset by a rise in shipments to Britain's second most important market, Portugal, to 249,015 tonnes in July-March 2006/07 from 204,248 a year earlier.
UK barley exports in March were 38,567 tonnes, down from 56,283 in February. For the season to date, barley shipments fell to 460,780 tonnes, down 16.0 percent from 548,516 in the same period a year earlier, the data showed. Germany has emerged as the most important market for UK barley, taking 113,955 tonnes, up from 59,887 in July-March 2005/06. Barley shipments to Spain slumped to 63,417 tonnes from 309,373 in the same period last year.
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