Rouen Port Grain Exports Jump 86% on Algeria, Cuba Wheat Demand

Grain exports from the French port of Rouen, Europe’s biggest cereal-shipping hub, rose in the most recent week on wheat demand from Algeria and Cuba.

Export cargoes rose to 91,772 metric tons between June 7 and June 13 from 49,400 tons a week earlier, the Seine River port wrote in an e-mailed report today. That included 86,302 tons of soft wheat, more than double the 42,085 tons the previous week.

Algeria was the biggest destination with 52,840 tons of soft wheat, up from 25,874 tons a week earlier, followed by Cuba with 26,762 tons of wheat, from none the previous week.

Rouen accounted for 41 percent of France’s grain exports by sea in 2010-11, ahead of La Pallice on the Bay of Biscay and Dunkirk on the North Sea, which shipped out 17 percent and 11 percent respectively, according to port data.

Rouen grain loadings by destination, in metric tons:

                 June 7-13
Soft wheat
Algeria             52,840
Cuba                26,762
Portugal             3,080
Spain (Canaries)     1,830
U.K.                 1,790

Barley
Spain (Canaries)     1,470

Corn
U.K.                 4,000

To contact the reporter on this story: Rudy Ruitenberg in Paris at rruitenberg@bloomberg.net

To contact the editor responsible for this story: Claudia Carpenter at ccarpenter2@bloomberg.net