Grain trends remain relatively steady, but not overly positive at present.
Close to home, harvest prices are being settled, with merchants reporting base prices of €200/t for green feed barley.
The Tirlán grain prices for the 2023 harvest were to be announced on Wednesday evening 11 October (see online).
Last Friday, French Matif wheat for December closed the week at €234.75/t, less than €1/t lower than the week before, meaning the price has closed in this region for three consecutive weeks.
On Wednesday afternoon, it was at €233.50/t.
Last week, European grain trade association Coceral revised EU and UK crop production estimates down from its June estimates due to dryness in northern Europe.
However, the Agriculture and Horticulture Development Board (AHDB) reported an edge higher in prices due to the conflict in Gaza and noted that dry weather in the southern hemisphere and a possible slowing of Russian wheat exports may support wheat prices.
Oilseed rape
Oilseed rape prices have fallen sharply in recent days. November French oilseed rape fell €16.25/t last week, closing on Friday at €426.25/t.
On Wednesday afternoon, that price was at €419.50/t. Supply looks good in general for oilseeds.
Maize drops
Nearby maize dropped to €204.75/t on Friday and went further on Wednesday to €202.75/t.
Big maize crops are resulting in dropping prices, which is not good for cereal prices in general.
However, it should be kept in mind that dryness in the southern hemisphere could impact on crop yields. So, it is something to watch.
The AHDB in the UK was negative on barley, wheat and maize prices for the next six months in its weekly report.
Soya beans
Last week, Reuters reported that “Argentina’s soy crushers face disaster” as processing plants are reportedly running out of soya beans due to a historic drought which cut the crop in half in the 2022/2023 season.
The next soya bean harvest is in April and there could be just 3m tonnes left by the end of the month.
The country is importing record levels of soya beans. However, overall global supply is reported to be good.
Native prices
Spot prices at home have declined this week, with spot barley at around €225/t and spot wheat at about €235/t. This week, soya ex-port remained at €500/t.