“At last, after so many unsuccessful attempts, this agreement is a positive sign,” said the President of Federalimentare (association of Italian food industries), Ivano Vacondio, commenting on the understanding on the export of wheat and other grains signed in Turkey between Ukraine and Russia.
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“Investment funds have already reduced the quantities they had in their portfolios, causing grain prices to fall by 5 percent in a matter of minutes,” Vacondio said. “Now we have to wait and evaluate the spillover effects on prices in commodity exchanges between traders in the sector. However, this agreement was what we needed. Not only for the economy of Italy, which has to import 50 percent of the wheat it needs, but especially for the food security of North Africa and the Mediterranean basin,” the Federalimentare President said.
Now all that will remain is to find out the details of the agreement. “We will need to know as soon as possible the quantity and types of grains covered by the agreement, but also where and whether they will be delivered to the market within a reasonable time,” Vacondio says.