Maize imports into the Republic of Ireland have been mostly over 120,000t per month for the months of May to September, according to data from the Central Statistics Office (CSO).

In May, maize imports were estimated to have reached 119,655t, while this figure hit 156,699t in June, 121,891t in July, 127,642t in August and 123,683t in September.

Imports from January to September (inclusive) came in at approximately 1.11m tonnes, compared with 806,737t for the same time in 2021 and 876,652t in 2020.

Imports look to be back to 2018 and 2019 levels, when figures stood at 1.10m and 1.19m tonnes respectively for the time of year.

Origins

The majority of imports so far have come from Canada (431,806t), Brazil (281,859t) and France (106,592t). Some of the other imports came via Northern Ireland, the United States, Ukraine, Poland and Moldova.

Summer drought, winter feed deficits in some areas and at times competitiveness on price are thought to be some of the reasons behind the increase in maize imports to the country.

Imports from the EU are low, most likely due to low production. According to Reuters and Strategie Grains, drought has resulted in an estimated 50m tonne maize crop in the EU and imports into the region are expected to reach 23m tonnes in 2022/2023.

Wheat and barley

Wheat and barley imports are also up for the time of year. Wheat imports are at 173,828t for January to September 2022, compared with 134,210t in 2021 and 133,899t in 2020.

Barley imports for January to September stand at approximately 138,167t for 2022, compared with 130,910t in 2021 and 114,456t in 2020. These figures come from the CSO and are subject to change.

Teagasc last week estimated Irish cereal production at 2.42m tonnes for the 2022 harvest.

Record yields were reached in spring barley, oats and winter oilseed rape, while wheat met its 2015 record of 11t/ha. Winter barley disappointed at an average yield of 8.68t/ha (3.5t/ac).