It's a small world: wheat in Russia and the Ukraine

The latest news from the commodity trading boys is that tension between Russia and the Ukraine, two of the world's key wheat suppliers, is not affecting wheat prices. This will remain true, of course, as long as the weather smiles on the crop in other countries like France and the USA. The International Grains Council has raised its 2014/15 world wheat production forecast from 702 million tonnes to 713 million.

It's a small world and South Africa is vulnerable to what happens elsewhere. You see, the country could, but doesn't, grow enough wheat for itself because of the government's almost total non-interference in the free market context. Hopefully one day the global community's interconnectedness will play a greater role in the way we treat each other. For now, here's to the weather! 

Find the commodity trading chapter in The Agri Handbook here. The wheat chapter is here.

Wheat price high

The news this evening is that wheat prices in South Africa are at their highest since 2008, a result of the Ukraine crisis. Role players here have argued for years that the State should do more to encourage the local industry (the import tariff is way below what is allowed under WTO regulations).

Read about the wheat industry in South Africa (and globally) in the wheat chapter of The Agri Handbook.