Comment: There is a slight lull in the market this week, as buyers have restocked post-Christmas and sales have yet to resume to normal patterns.

However, due to lower stock levels, any grower who wants to move product has no problem doing so.

The annual IFA stock survey is now under way and we should have some idea of levels in store in the coming weeks.

Physical prices in northern Europe are holding firm, with some increases this week, which were mainly based on the demand from processors in Belgium. As an indication of this, the European processing April 2019 traded at up to €325/t earlier in the week.

Due to the high prices, export demand remains light, but there was still some interest from eastern Europe this week.

Farmgate prices are holding well in the UK and there have been increases for best-quality white lines.

On poorer-quality lines, there was some selling pressure, as growers tried to move stock from ambient stores which are not keeping well due to the mild weather.

These stocks should be moved on soon and prices will stabilise across the board.