Argentinian wheat shipment rejected by Algeria

Argentina’s wheat industry chamber, ArgenTrigo, reported that Algeria recently rejected a wheat shipment from Argentina due to inferior quality. The organ stated the country’s wheat is generally in good condition, and that the rejected commodity is an isolated incident. ArgenTrigo believes the poor quality shipment was the result of Chinese grains shipper COFCO’s already half-sprouted wheat mix when the vessel was first loaded. According to the Buenos Aires Grain Exchange, Argentina is on the verge of collecting its record wheat harvest for the 2018/19 season, at 19.2m tons. The country exported 900,000 tons of grain to Algeria last year, equivalent to an export revenue of US$160m.

Supporting sources:

https://www.hellenicshippingnews.com/algeria-rejects-argentine-wheat-shipment-over-poor-quality/

Algeria rejected a wheat shipment from Argentina that was below contractual quality standards, Argentina’s ArgenTrigo wheat industry chamber said.

The chamber referred to the rejected shipment as an isolated case, and said Argentina’s wheat crop is generally in good condition.

The African country is the second largest destination for wheat from Argentina, a leading global supplier of grains. Argentina exported 900,000 tonnes of grains worth $160 million to Algeria last year.

ArgenTrigo President David Hughes said the issue with the shipment was specifically related to the wheat mix loaded by the Chinese grains shipper COFCO International and that he did not predict any repercussions for the marketing of Argentine wheat.

“It was a shipment by COFCO and the issue is that the wheat was not in excellent condition. It was already half-sprouted when the ship was loaded,” Hughes said in a telephone interview.

A spokesman for Chinese grains shipper COFCO International declined to comment.

Farmers are now in the final stages of harvesting wheat for the 2018-19 season. The Buenos Aires Grain Exchange estimates the crop at 19 million tonnes.

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