PARIS, FRANCE — France is seeing a welcome boost in its exports of wheat and barley to China, Reuters reported.

About a dozen panamax vessels are believed to have been booked for shipment to China during the first half of the 2020-21 season. That represents about 700,000 tonnes, according to traders, but could be as high as 1 million tonnes.

About 200,000 tonnes of French wheat has been shipped or is about to land, according to port data.

France’s disappointing harvest and resulting drop in supply is costing sales in Algeria, its primary overseas market. However, China is looking to fill more of its wheat import quota following a World Trade Organization ruling and is diversifying its sourcing of grain supplies.

Nearly 700,000 tonnes of barley have already been shipped or are about to load for China, Reuters said.

Traders estimate sales of French barley of at least 1 million tonnes in the first half the season, on the way to matching last season’s 1.5 million.