Wheat in Israel & the world today 以色列和当今世界的小麦

Wheat in Israel and the world today 以色列和当今世界的小麦 Beck Eli, Shanghai April 2022 贝彬, 上海 2022 年 4 月

小麦被称为“七种”之一，在以色列的土地上得到了祝福，并在犹太律法中被提及 30 次，在 1 万多年前在肥沃的中东新月地区首次被驯化。被称为“小麦之母”的野生小麦于 1910 年在 Rosh Pina 被犹太复国主义农学家 Aaron Aaronson 鉴定。大约 100 年（2010 年）后，以色列研究人员已经能够在其中找到可能提高其营养价值的基因- 培养小麦籽粒的蛋白质和矿物质含量。 （大约70%的小麦仁是淀粉，大约10%是蛋白质）

在世界上：

俄罗斯和乌克兰共同供应了全球约 29% 的小麦（分别为 17% 和 12%）。乌克兰倾向于出口其年产量的三分之二，俄罗斯只有一半左右。

乌克兰的土壤被认为是世界上最肥沃的土壤，可以以相对较低的成本种植小麦。但乌克兰的小麦出口由于战争而停止，而且由于政府最近决定禁止小麦和其他食品出口，以在国内保留足够的食品。此外，战争还可能扰乱乌克兰下一季作物的播种，这可能导致未来小麦短缺。俄罗斯继续出口小麦，迄今为止，该地区尚未对其实施制裁。高能源价格和战争的结合造成了严重的破坏，化肥价格上涨了四倍，因此即使战争很快结束，生产成本也将在较长时期内保持高位。

印度拥有重要的世界级小麦库存，到目前为止，它主要用于干旱期间的国内供应需求。价格上涨导致趋势发生变化，印度贸易商最近几天一直在签署重要的销售协议。澳大利亚也存在一些供应潜力，该国是另一个重要的小麦出口国，并未受到美国和加拿大作物遭受的极端热浪的影响。澳大利亚今年的收成特别丰富，每公顷高达 6 吨（面积约 10,000 平方米），比正常年份的正常收成高约 3 倍。澳大利亚的限制是缺乏大量出口小麦的物流基础设施，而印度不存在这种限制。

近几个月小麦价格翻了一番（与去年 6 月相比）。从 2 月中旬开始，价格迅速上涨。仅在最近几周，小麦期货价格就上涨了约 40%，目前交易价格约为每蒲式耳 11 美元——（一蒲式耳小麦约为 27.2 公斤）。小麦价格的波动性也有所上升。在美国，由于价格大幅上涨导致需求下降，到最后一天，价格已下跌近 10%。

2021 年 8 月至 2022 年 3 月美国小麦价格 美元/按（蒲式耳）

在以色列

在以色列，小麦主要种植在内盖夫地区，面积约 100 万德南（杜南=1000 平方米），占以色列所有农业用地的近四分之一。当地小麦产量约为每年 20 万吨，仅能满足 10% 左右的需求。以色列小麦质量不高，主要用于动物饲料。

大约 75% 的进口到以色列的谷物被用作牲畜的食物，而不是供人类食用。

约 16% - 供人类食用的小麦；

大约 10% 是用于产油的豆类（主要是大豆）。

俄罗斯和乌克兰的小麦由于价格便宜、航行时间短、供应量大，占以色列进口量的 50% 以上。

以色列拥有包括小麦在内的几种基本食品的紧急库存，该库存为经济提供了两个多月的供应。因为涨价几个月前就开始了，而且海上输电价格也长期居高不下，不可能“跳过”全球涨价。

小麦价格的上涨预计将导致面粉和动物饲料的价格上涨，随之而来的是糕点、奶制品和肉制品的价格上涨。

在 Shemita 年（6 年可以种植 - 第 7 年是 Shemita 年），以色列对小麦进口的依赖增加，在此期间犹太人被禁止食用以色列种植的小麦。小麦种植者从农业部获得补偿，以便他们可以继续播种小麦并“保护土地”。

附录1

海法大学和加利福尼亚大学的研究人员在《自然》杂志上发表的一项联合研究表明，注入人工小麦的“小麦之母”基因可以增加其营养价值。

海法大学的 Zion Fahima 教授和加利福尼亚大学的 George Dubkowski 教授在全球范围内的发现将有助于提高世界面包小麦的营养质量。研究人员能够克隆一种野生小麦基因，该基因可缩短小麦籽粒的成熟时间并富含蛋白质、锌和铁。 “使用我们发现的基因可以显着增加世界上面包小麦的蛋白质和矿物质含量。这将有助于改善世界上许多贫困人口的饮食，他们的饮食中蛋白质和矿物质含量较低，因为他们对衍生食品的消费增加了来自小麦粉，”法希玛教授说。总结研究结果的文章发表在著名的科学杂志《科学》上。

研究人员还发现，他们发现的特定基因在世界上所有用于商业生产各种意大利面、面包和糕点的小麦品种中都不存在。 Fahima 教授认为，在小麦驯化过程中，该基因似乎丢失了，因此基于改良小麦品种的产品将更有营养。在这一发现之前，改良小麦的过程可能需要很多年。然而，破译基因序列及其功能将使其能够使用基因工程方法快速有效地转移到培养菌株中。此外，将有可能设计出新的基因形式，从而通过基因工程进一步改良小麦并使其适应不同的种植区域。

Wheat in Israel and the world today Beck Eli, Shanghai April 2022

Wheat, known as one of the "seven species" in which the Land of Israel was blessed, and mentioned in the Jewish Torah 30 times, was first domesticated more than 10,000 years ago in the fertile crescent region of the Middle East. Wild wheat, known as the "mother of wheat," was identified by Zionist agronomist Aaron Aaronson in Rosh Pina in 1910. After about 100 years (2010), Israeli researchers have been able to find a gene in it that may improve its nutritional value - the protein and mineral content of cultured wheat grains. (About 70% of the wheat kernel is starch, and about 10% - is protein)

In the world:

Russia and Ukraine together supply about 29% of the world's wheat (17% and 12%, respectively). Ukraine tends to export two-thirds of its annual output, Russia only about half.

Ukrainian soil is considered the most fertile in the world and allows wheat to be grown at relatively low costs. But wheat exports from Ukraine ceased due to the war, and due to a government decision to ban exports of wheat and other food products these days, in order to keep enough food products within the country. In addition, the war may also disrupt the sowing of the next crop in Ukraine, which could lead to future wheat shortages. Russia continues to export wheat, an area for which no sanctions have been imposed, so far. The combination of high energy prices and war causes severe disruptions and a fourfold increase in fertilizer prices so that even if the war ends soon, production costs will remain high for a longer period.

India has a significant world-class wheat stock, and so far, it has been used mainly for domestic supply needs during drought. The rise in prices has caused the trend to change and Indian traders have been signing significant sales deals in recent days. Some supply potential also exists in Australia, another significant wheat exporter that has not been hit by the extreme heat waves that have hit crops in the United States and Canada. Australia enjoys a particularly abundant crop this year, of up to 6 tons per hectare (an area of about 10,000sqm), about 3 times more successful than a normal crop in a normal year. The restriction in Australia is a lack of logistical infrastructure for exporting large quantities of wheat, a restriction that does not exist in India.

Wheat prices have doubled in recent months (compared to last June). From mid-February, there was a rapid jump in prices. In recent weeks alone, the price of wheat futures has risen by about 40% and is currently traded at a price of about $ 11 per bushel – (A wheat bushel is about 27.2 kg). The volatility in the price of wheat has also risen. In the United States, the price has dropped, by the last day, by almost 10%, after the sharp jump in prices caused a drop in demand.

Wheat prices in the US, August 2021 to March 2022 US$/Bu (Bushel)

In Israel

In Israel, wheat is grown mainly in the Negev region, in an area of ​​about one million dunams (Dunam=1000 Sqm.), which constitute close to a quarter of all agricultural land in Israel. The local wheat yield stands at about 200,000 tons per year and is sufficient for only about 10% of demand. Israeli wheat is not considered particularly high quality and is mainly used for animal feed.

About 75% of the grains imported to Israel are used as food for livestock and not for human consumption.

About 16% - wheat for human consumption.

About 10% are beans for oil production (mainly soy).

Wheat from Russia and Ukraine accounts for more than 50% of Israeli imports, thanks to the cheap price, short sailing time, and high supply.

Israel has an emergency inventory of several basic foods including wheat, an inventory that gives the economy more than two months of supply. Because price increases began several months ago, and because marine transmission prices have also been high for a long time, it is not possible to "skip" the global jump in prices.

The rise in the price of wheat is expected to lead to a rise in the price of flour and animal feed, and with them a rise in the prices of pastries, dairy, and meat products.

Dependence on wheat imports increased in Israel during the Shemita year (6 years can grow – the 7th year is Shemita year), during which Jews were forbidden to eat wheat grown in Israel. Wheat growers receive compensation from the Ministry of Agriculture so that they can continue to sow wheat and "preserve the land."

Appendix 1

A joint study by researchers at the Universities of Haifa and California, published in Nature, showed that a gene of the “mother of wheat” infused with cultured wheat can increase its nutritional value.

Worldwide discovery by researchers Prof. Zion Fahima of the University of Haifa and Prof. George Dubkowski of the University of California will help improve the nutritional quality of bread wheat in the world. The researchers were able to clone a wild wheat gene that shortens the ripening time of wheat grains and enriches them with protein, zinc, and iron. "Using the gene, we found we can significantly increase the protein and mineral content of bread wheat in the world. This will help improve the diet of many poor populations in the world whose diet is low in protein and minerals due to increased consumption of food products derived from wheat flour," says Prof. Fahima. The article summarizing the results of the study was published in the prestigious scientific journal SCIENCE.

The researchers also found that the specific gene they discovered was absent from all the cultivated wheat varieties in the world used for commercial production of all types of pasta, bread, and pastries. According to Prof. Fahima, it seems that in the process of domestication of wheat, the gene was lost and therefore products that will be based on improved wheat varieties will be more nutritious. Until this discovery, the process of improving wheat could take many years. However, deciphering the sequence of the gene and its function will allow it to be transferred quickly and efficiently to cultural strains using methods of genetic engineering. In addition, it will be possible to engineer new genetic forms of the gene that will allow further improvement of the wheat through genetic engineering and its adaptation to different growing areas.

Written by Eli Beck, Shanghai April 2022