Grain Exports From Rouen Climb 19% on Barley Shipment to Turkey

Grain exports from the French port of Rouen, Europe’s biggest wheat-shipping hub, rose 19 percent on a barley shipment to Turkey.

Exports totaled 136,318 metric tons in the week through Jan. 30, against 114,223 tons in the previous period, the Seine River port wrote in an e-mailed report today. Wheat cargoes rose to 87,346 tons from 76,485 tons, while barley shipments climbed to 48,972 tons from 37,738 tons.

Turkey was the top destination for grain, taking 40,284 tons of barley, the first cargo of the cereal sent to the nation from Rouen since February 2011. Tunisia ranked second with 27,101 tons of wheat.

Rouen accounted for 41 percent of France’s grain exports by sea in 2010-11, exceeding the 17 percent share for La Pallice on the Bay of Biscay and Dunkirk on the North Sea with 11 percent of the total, according to port figures.

Rouen grain loadings by destination, in metric tons:

                     Jan. 24-30
Soft wheat
Tunisia                27,101
Algeria                26,000
Cameroon               14,070
Guinea                  7,700
Ivory Coast             6,575
U.K.                    1,800

Durum wheat
Germany                 4,100

Feed barley
Turkey                 40,284

Malting barley
Libya                   5,388
Ireland                 3,300

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