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US farm support cuts hopes of tackling durum glut
27.04.2010 12:05 "Agro Perspectiva" (Kyiv) —
Americas farm support regime is encouraging farmers to plant durum despite the huge inventories already undermining the market, the Canadian Wheat Board has said.
While Canadian farmers are cutting plantings of the pasta wheat by nearly one-quarter, Americas durum area is «not expected to decline», the grain marketing giant said.
The resilience in American sowings reflects support programmes which «insulate» US growers from the falls in global prices which are affecting farmers elsewhere.
The CWB singled out durum values used in calculations for government-backed loan programmes which, at more than $6 a bushel in major growing areas, attribute twice the value to durum that farmers can get at elevators.
«This means that a farmer in North Dakota, when deciding between durum and spring wheat, with a loan rate below $4 a bushel, will continue to plant durum,» the board said.
The US Department of Agriculture last month estimated US durum sowings would fall by 13% to 2.2m acres, with plantings of other spring wheats rising by 4.8% to 13.9m acres.
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