UK cereal supplies are expected to be tight this year. The UK is one of the main importers of wheat and barley into Ireland for animal feed, so this could affect import levels.

The Agriculture and Horticulture Development Board (AHDB) in the UK reported that “the drop in supply of total cereals for harvest 2024 outweighs the decline in domestic consumption”.

The AHDB stated: “As such, we can expect a tighter balance of UK cereals throughout the 2024/25 season at 5.39Mt [million tonnes], down 14% on the year.

“When taking into account an operating stock requirement, the amount therefore available for either export or free stock is estimated well below the five-year average, at 3.04Mt.”

Cereal production

Cereal production in the UK is reported to have fallen 11% year on year. Wheat production declined by 21% to 11.05Mt.

Barley production increased by 3% to 7.2Mt. Oats production increased by 20% to 999,000t.

The AHDB said that while wheat and maize opening stocks were heavier, they were not enough to offset the drop in cereal production. They said that the UK will reply on a greater volume of imported grain than last season and the previous five-year average.

Full-season wheat imports into the UK were estimated to reach 2.75Mt, up 13% on the year.

Imports

In 2023, 86,118t of wheat and 184,584t of barley were imported from Britain to Ireland.

Approximately 33,620t of wheat and 25,365t of barley were imported from Northern Ireland. This data is raw data from the CSO for January to December 2023.