UAE not affected by Russian wheat ban
Posted by Zawya
Gulf News
Tuesday, Aug 10, 2010

no imports of grain from that country

Dubai The UAE is unlikely to be affected by the wheat export ban that Russia declared on Sunday after drought and wildfires triggered shortage fears.

Local traders said that while prices will fluctuate, supply will be unaffected as Russia does not export wheat to this country.

Kamal Vachani, director of Al Maya Supermarkets said the ban in Russia has “nothing to do with UAE” because wheat in the local market doesn’t come from Russia.

The wheat shortage threat comes less than a week before the beginning of Ramadan that usually drives up sales of foodstuffs. “Wheat was enjoying a comfortable supply-demand status from the start of the year, but fundamentals have taken a U-turn with the development of drought conditions in Russia and the export ban,” said Pradeep Unni, Senior Relationship Manager at Richcomm Global.

“GCC nations that depend a lot on imports to meet their food needs could see a shortfall in supply, but a massive rise in prices isn’t expected in the UAE as the nation does not completely depend on Russia for its import requirements.

“If other Black Sea producers, especially Kazakh-stan and Ukraine, ban their exports, a price rise could be inevitable as globally there could be a price spike due to this. This situation isn’t likely to last for long as other production centres are likely to catch up with the supply shortages,” Unni said.

Vachani said prices for wheat will be “much lower” especially during Ramadan, since retailers want customers to enjoy the month. “There is enough stock,” he said.

A spokesperson for Foodstuff Traders Group, a local wholesale trader, said the grain supply in the country will not be affected but prices surely b will be.

With the kind of speculation, it [price] is already up 30 per cent, if the situation escalates, it could rise another 30 per cent,” the spokesperson said.

He said the price fluctuation doesn’t have much to do with supply and demand, but more about news that can drive the price of any commodity higher.

“The government will need to [regulate], otherwise this kind of nonsense will continue,” he said.

The UAE’s wheat supply is sourced through various international markets such as Ukraine, Australia, Canada, Argentina, while Turkey and India supply wheat intermittently.

“The UAE never used to buy Russian wheat and it will be able to get it from the different countries although at a higher price,” the spokesperson said.

GCC nations that depend a lot on imports for meeting their food needs could see a shortfall in supply, but a massive rise in prices isn’t expected in the UAE as the nation does not completely depend on Russia for its import requirements.”

Pradeep Unni,

Senior relationship manager at Richcomm Global

By Nadia Saleem, Staff Reporter

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