PARIS: European wheat futures fell on Monday as an Egyptian import tender kept attention on competitive Black Sea supplies, while expectations that US grain crop forecasts will increase in a government report also weighed on sentiment.

December wheat, the most active position on Paris-based Euronext, was 1.6% down at 223.00 euros ($243.47) a metric ton by 1414 GMT. Egypt’s tender, seeking a massive 3.8 million tons of wheat for shipment between October and April, is set to be dominated by Black Sea origins, including Russian wheat, like last week’s tender by fellow importer Algeria.

Some 15 suppliers submitted offers in the Egyptian tender, with the cheapest price before freight for Ukrainian wheat and limited offers of French wheat much pricier, traders said.

An ample supply of competitively priced Black Sea wheat has turned attention away from a dire harvest in France, where the farm ministry forecasts the main wheat crop to reach its lowest volume since the 1980s at 26.3 million tons.

“Only the Black Sea is in the running for exports,” a futures dealer said. “It’s going to be grim for the French grain sector unless prices in Russia start climbing.”

The rain-hit production, subdued prices and higher input costs represent a triple whammy for French farmers who already staged protests earlier this year.

Traders noted continuing exports from war-torn Ukraine despite renewed Russian attacks on port zones.