BRUSSELS: Soft wheat exports from the European Union since the start of the 2024/25 season in July had reached 8.79 million metric tons by Nov. 17, down 31% from 12.66 million a year earlier, data published by the European Commission showed on Tuesday.

EU barley exports totalled 1.83 million tons, down 37% from 2.91 million tons in the corresponding period in 2023/24.

EU cereal exports have been curbed by harvest setbacks, with heavy rain in western Europe contributing to a 12-year low for EU soft wheat production and keeping barley output near a 12-year low from 2023.

However, the Commission said grain export data for Italy has been incomplete for the last five weeks and that data for France has been incomplete since the beginning of calendar year 2024.

Export data for Bulgaria and Ireland has not been complete since the beginning of marketing year 2023/24, the Commission said.

A breakdown of this season’s volume showed Romania was the leading EU soft wheat exporter, with 2.52 million tons so far, followed by Lithuania with 1.19 million and Latvia at 1.13 million.