Title: Too Much Wheat Is Forcing Its Farmers to Other Crops - Bloomberg
Headings: Too Much Wheat Is Forcing Its Farmers to Other Crops
Business
Too Much Wheat Is Forcing Its Farmers to Other Crops
Agnieszka de Sousa
Lower Prices
Century Low
Wheat Surplus
Wheat Stockpiles

Content: It’s not difficult to see why the market slumped for so long. Wheat used in everything from bread to cakes and noodles thrives in all sorts of climates, and every few months there are crops being harvested somewhere in the world. Global production will reach an all-time high of 751.3 million metric tons once the current Southern Hemisphere harvest is complete, leaving stockpiles at 252.1 million tons, the most ever, U.S. Department of Agriculture data show. Lower Prices
Prices tumbled 13 percent last year to $4.08 a bushel on the Chicago Board of Trade, touching a 10-year low of $3.8675 on Aug. 31 and extending the longest stretch of annual losses since 1999. The grain was one of the biggest commodity losers of 2016 and is down by more than half from its high in 2012. Milling wheat in France dropped 3.2 percent to 168 euros a ton, capping a four-year slide of 32 percent. Russia, the world’s top exporter, said on Dec. 28 that its 2016 wheat harvest jumped 19 percent, more than analysts forecast. Farmers in Argentina are harvesting what will probably be their biggest crop since 2012, according to CRM AgriCommodities. And because wheat is sold in dollars on global markets, the currency’s strength is boosting the incentive for growers outside the U.S. to ship more, even with lower prices. “For prices to move substantially higher from here, we need to see some signs of supply being restricted, either by a weather event or by the fact that production levels are curtailed,” said Fiona Boal, director of commodity research at London-based Fulcrum Asset Management LLP, which oversees about $5.2 billion.