The price of wheat worldwide is set on special stock exchanges. The German Farmers’ Association expects wheat prices to remain high, despite the war in Ukraine.
DW Andreas Becker
Edited by: Stefanos Georgakopoulos
For several years the price for a ton of wheat was around 200 euros. Since the start of the war in Ukraine the price has doubled. It is particularly interesting that only 25% of the world wheat crop, ie about 785 million tonnes, is traded in international trade. The remaining quantity is sold, processed and consumed at the place of production.
The price of wheat worldwide is set on special stock exchanges, explains Wolfgang Zambel, CEO of Kaack, a company specializing in agricultural products, to DW: “There are two major commodity markets in the world. CBOT in Chicago and Euronext in Paris. They are considered the barometer of price in the world market and are under public supervision. The price is formed exclusively by supply and demand “.
The price will remain high regardless of the war
For wheat producers and traders, the price set on the stock exchanges looks like a wholesale price, says the German expert, referring to a kind of benchmark accepted by the world market. Russia and Ukraine together produce about a third of the world’s wheat, 60 million out of a total of 200 million tonnes. Wolfgang Zabel explains:
“At the beginning of the war we saw the price per ton of wheat skyrocket to $ 425. This is mainly due to the fact that the availability of a good has been further reduced. The world market can not operate at a normal pace without wheat from Ukraine and Russia. The quantities are very large “.
The German Farmers’ Association expects wheat prices to remain high, despite the war in Ukraine. Prices had already risen due to the pandemic, but also due to the lack of fertilizers and spare parts for agricultural machinery. Stockbroker Wolfgang Zabel has a similar view and assumes that wheat will remain expensive at least until 2023.
