Wheat yield broke record – 2.88 million tons

Published on 27. July 2016., News

This year’s wheat crop is 20 percent higher than the last year and with almost 600,000 hectare area the yield of almost three million tons of wheat was realized, as stated during the session of Subcommittee for Monitoring the Agricultural Situation in the Marginal – Most Undeveloped Areas in the Republic of Serbia

Milan Cupric, Head of the Plant Production Department of the Ministry of Agriculture and Environmental Protection stated that experts assessed that the crop is even higher than shown in official data.

He stated that this year’s yield is the highest in the last seven years, harvest was finished and only some areas on higher altitudes were left.

As he stated, there is wheat in the area of almost 600 000 hectares and this year’s yield amounts to 2.88 million tons. Realized yield is 4.8 tons average per hectare.

“That is excellent result since it is the same area and yields are good”, said Cupric.

He added that we exported 1.1 million tons of wheat last year and that 1.5 million tons of wheat could be exported this year.

He stated that domestic needs are satisfied, and that our wheat and flour are exported to CEFTA markets, i.e. Bosnia and Herzegovina, Montenegro, Albania and Macedonia. We export 55 percent of quantities there and all the rest to EU countries, mostly Romania. World wheat production is estimated to be at the level of around 738 million tons, which is also the highest in the last seven years.

Cupric reminded that wheat is exchange goods and there is no monopoly for price setting.

That means that the price is determined based on market demand and supply.

“We hope that prices will be changed on the world market and become higher”, said Cupric and stated that majority farmers in Serbia want to sell wheat in harvesting period when it is the cheapest.

Price is currently going from 14 to 15.5 dinars per kilogram.

One third farmers decide to sell prior to harvest, one third during the harvest and the rest after harvest. First trading began when the price was 16.5 dinars per kilogram, he added.

Cupric stated that it can be expected that one part of wheat shall be used as animal food due to high price of corn.

“This is not a problem, it is customary and positive for producers since demand shall increase”, he stated.

Cupric says that there are calculations by farmers that producers’ price is 20 dinars, and that the Ministry performed calculation that had shown the price of 10 dinars per kilogram.

“The state cannot intervene and dictate the price of agricultural or any other products, including wheat”, said Cupric.

He pointed out that storage capacities are satisfactory and Directorate for Commodity Reserve according to the Trading Law has no right to intervene on the market, but has to maintain strategic state reserves.

Cupric said that state reserves are sufficiently filled to capacities for three-month period and that is why Directorate did not allocate money for market intervention.