Southern grain production decreases by 12% – lowest in 10 years

Last Updated: May 15, 2024

The production of durum wheat will fall below 3.5 million tons this year, by 10% to 12%, risking being remembered as the lowest in the last 10 years. Three causes of this collapse: an 11% reduction in cultivated areas, unfair competition from foreign products, and drought affecting the Southern regions of Italy. This is the first estimate one month before the start of widespread threshing carried out by Coldiretti and Cai – Consorzi Agrari d’Italia, during the event “Day in the field in San Lazzaro di Savena (Bologna), on the lands of Sis – Italian Seed Company. The cultivated areas compared to the previous year, Coldiretti and Cai report, fall below 1.2 million hectares, with peaks of 17% in the Central South areas, where about 90% of the harvest comes from. The drop in prices is primarily attributable to unfair competition: in 2023, nearly 900 million kilograms of Russian and Turkish wheat arrived, in addition to over 1 billion kilograms from Canada. There are also the effects of the weather, with drought reducing durum wheat production in Puglia by 20-30%, while in some areas of Sicily it reaches -70%. A slight increase (+1.4%) in cultivated areas for soft wheat, just above 600,000 hectares, for an estimated production of around 3 million tons. A decrease of 8% also in barley cultivated areas. To cope with market price fluctuations and protect farmers, Consorzi Agrari d’Italia has implemented supply chain contracts for 12 productions, 4 of which are related to wheat, representing over 50% of the volume for Cai. This involves around 400,000 tons of wheat, making Cai the leading player in the national market for this production. 25% of this wheat is covered by supply chain contracts.