Central Asian Supplier Takes Center Stage: Kazakhstan’s presence as a major supplier has become a crucial factor in world trade. With higher exportable supplies in 2007/08, it is expected to export 8 million tons. This will adequately satisfy the needs of its neighboring countries, which have been experiencing rising bread prices. Kazakhstan also will become an important player in the tight global wheat market by picking up slack from Ukraine and EU-27. Although landlocked, it still has a competitive advantage in delivering wheat to some major importers (e.g. Egypt, EU-27, Tunisia, and Yemen) due to access to Black Sea ports. This does not necessarily shut the door to more expensive U.S. exports, especially to those buyers that have stricter quality standards.

Domestic: For September, wheat prices for all classes surged on strong export sales, continued surging global import demand, and deteriorating crop conditions in Australia. For the month, Hard Red Winter (HRW) rose $43 per ton, Hard Red Spring (HRS) rose $54, Soft Red Winter (SRW) rose $40, and Soft White (SWW) rose $66.