The European Union granted export licences for 418,000 tonnes of soft wheat this week, taking the total so far in the 2016/17 season that started on July 1 to 8.15 million tonnes, official data showed on Thursday. The weekly volume marked a rebound after the previous two weeks brought the two lowest awards this season at just over 200,000 tonnes.
The cumulative volume so far in 2016/17 remained 12 percent above the year-earlier level. This week is the last award under the current licence system before the EU scraps its general requirement for grain exporters and importers to request licences. As part of a push to simplify procedures, the EU will from now on publish weekly export and import figures based on actual shipments declared to customs services in each EU country. The EU also awarded this week 180,000 tonnes of maize export licences, bringing the season's volume to 2.7 million, down 19 percent from the year-earlier level, the data showed.