Harvest pressure and increasing global supply are conspiring to push down international grain prices. This has been countered by weakening sterling for the past few weeks, but now UK prices are slipping.

Sterling fell by 4% against the euro since early July, and UK feed wheat prices (November 2017) fell by almost £10/t (currency plus international prices).

Recent ex-farm prices are reported as around £135/t for wheat, £308/t for Oil Seed Rape, £120/tonne for feed barley, with contracts around £158/t for malting spec.

According to AHDB, there have been considerable falls in international grain prices, but the weakening sterling has gone some way to offsetting this dip.

Large crops of grain around the Black Sea, along with increased exports from Russia, continue to pressure the wheat futures market. IKAR reports that recent Russian exports are up 22% year -on-year. Furthermore, Ukraine is also looking towards increased exports levels.

Elsewhere, French wheat quality is reported to be good this year, according to FranceAgriMer and Arvalis. But in Germany, the EU’s second largest exporter, the Ag ministry is reporting lower specific weights for wheat.