World Grain - June 2013 - 24

COUNTRYfocus

tonnes in 2011-12, compared with 12.9
million the year before. Exports to other
E.U. countries rose to 7.52 million tonnes,
from 6.69 million. The value of French
wheat exports was €3.4 billion in 2011-12,
down 21% on the year.
“Third countries remain the principle
customers for French wheat,” France
Export Céréales said, “although to a
lesser extent than in previous years.”
The main destinations outside the

value of €900 million. “Deliveries of
barley to the countries of the European
Union and to third countries represent
3.5 and 0.79 million tonnes, respectively,” the body said. “The big customers for French barley outside the European Union are Saudi Arabia and the
Maghreb countries for feed barley and
China for malting barley.
France Export Céréales put French
maize exports at 6.72 million tonnes in

Third countries remain the principle customers for French wheat,
although to a lesser extent than in previous years, according to
France Export Céréales.

European Union remain the Maghreb
countries of northwest Africa, which
have historic links with France, mainly
Algeria and Morocco. They account for
59% of export volume. The countries
of sub-Saharan Africa in the west and
center of the continent, notably Senegal,
Ivory Coast and Cameroon, account for
24% of exports. France Export Céréales
notes that they are “countries which are
geographically close to us and which
have the habit of eating bread close to
French bread. After the records reached
in 2010-11 following the absence of the
countries of the Black Sea, exports to
Egypt have fallen,”
French durum exports fell by 20%
in volume and 7% in value in 201112, reaching 1.55 million tonnes worth
€490 million.
“Deliveries of durum wheat to
the European Union were stable at
700,000 tonnes in 2011-12,” the export body said.
Even though exports to non-E.U. countries at 850,000 tonnes had fallen, they
were still higher than in preceding years.
“Although Algeria is still the main
customer for our durum wheat outside
the European Union, Morocco has confirmed its interest in French durum wheat
in 2011-12,” France Export Céréales said.
French barley exports were 4.28 million tonnes in 2011-12, representing a
24

2011-12, an increase of 23%. The exports were all to other E.U. countries, it
said. The value of French maize exports
was €1.91 billion.
STRUCTURAL CHANGE
According to the French government’s agricultural statistics body,
Agreste, the number of farms has fallen by more than half over the last two
decades, affecting mostly small and
medium enterprises, while the number
of large businesses remains higher than
in 1988 and now represents over a third
of farms by number. Medium and large
farms represented 96.2% of cereals
land usage in 2010, up from 90.3% in
1988. Job diversification is now routine
for farmers in SMEs.
According to the European statistics
agency, Eurostat, France has lost a quarter of its farms since 2000, as has Spain,
Italy and Portugal, while Germany has
seen a drop of 35%, and Denmark and
the Netherlands 30%. France, like Germany, has seen its agricultural area fall
by 3% in contrast with a small increase
in U.K.
In its annual report, the cereals producers’ umbrella body, ORAMA, explains that 2012 was a record year for
income in French farming as most regions experienced higher yields and
high prices. But revenue volatility

also rose from a factor of 1 to 7 from
2009-12 as a result of the dismantling
of market management tools under the
CAP. However, this masks a 17% hike
in costs of €140-180 per hectare over
two years, according to CER FranceArvalis-Unigrains. Fertilizers and fuel
account for 90% of this increase, although structural charges have also
gone up 25% over 15 years. The “wheat
production cost indicator” put in place
by Arvalis three years ago is thus enabling tracking of the worrying trend in
costs for the 2012 harvest.
ETHANOL
According to the French maize industry body, Association Générale des
Producteurs de Maïs, (AGPM), which
cites a report from PricewaterhouseCoopers on the biofuels sector, the French
ethanol sector employed 8,900 people,
producing added value worth €815 million in 2010. The jobs consist of 4,500
directly employed, 1,500 jobs created
in other sectors by the ethanol sector’s
spending and 2,900 jobs created by the
spending by the employees of the sector
and its suppliers.
The ethanol sector operates on 15
production sites of which 13 are distilleries including five new large capacity factories. Production of ethanol in
France totaled 12.5 million hectoliters
in 2011-12, up from 11.6 million hectoliters in 2010-11. AGPM estimates
that less than 0.7% of French arable
land was used for ethanol production
in 2011, a figure it arrived at using an
adjustment for byproducts destined for
the animal feed industry.
The French industry is fighting a European proposal to cut the amount of
ethanol required in vehicle fuel in 2020
to 5%. So far it has succeeded in getting a counter proposal for 7% agreed
in France.
MILLING INDUSTRY
According to the French millers organization ANMF, (Association Nationale
de la Meunerie Française), the French
milling industry used 5.58 million
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