Market participants have reported Romanian milling wheat arriving at the country's Constanta export hub as having sub-standard dough strength ("W"), which has led to some sellers cutting their offers of lower-W 12.5pc protein content milling wheat.
Romanian 12.5pc milling wheat with a W of 150 x 10^-4 joules (10^-4J) — well below the standard 180 x 10^-4J — was offered at a discount of $4-5/t compared with standard product on a fob Constanta-Varna-Burgas basis this week, according to market participants.
Sub-standard W may be unsuitable for certain buyers and end-users, including Saudi Arabia's state buyer, market participants said. Demand for shipment to Saudi Arabia's purchase tender has accounted for a sizeable share of trades in the 12.5pc fob CVB market so far this 2025-26 (July-June) marketing year, as traders cover a purchase tender held back in May.
Higher soil moisture during Romania's wheat crop development may have boosted yields at the expense of other quality metrics, traders said. Higher moisture levels can encourage bug damage, which can, in turn, pressure the dough strength of the grain.
But the quality spread could prove short-lived. Farmers are likely to offload their lower-quality volumes first, traders said, leading to an influx of lower-W wheat offers at port. The crop which has arrived at Constanta so far is likely to have been harvested from surrounding areas, where conditions were less favourable, meaning the average dough strength of Romania's wheat harvest is likely to rise once wheat from across the country reaches the export market.
