Grain markets looked a little bit more positive this week, but not so far that prices changed at home.

Matif wheat for December closed last week up at €231/t. That price held on Monday and Tuesday. On Wednesday afternoon it had fallen, but came back up to €231/t.

The crop monitoring report from the EU made no change to its wheat yield forecast in the report. Prices also increased for UK wheat, while US prices dropped slightly over the last week.

Maize prices were gaining ground. The November French maize price closed last week at €217/t and moved to €219.25/t on Tuesday.

Drought conditions in the Black Sea and countries like Romania were likely impacting on this.

EU crop report

The European Commission released its latest crop monitoring report on Monday. The July MARS Bulletin revised estimated yields for almost all crops down. However, those yields remain close to the five-year average according to the report.

Sunflowers, grain maize and peas took significant drops, while spring barley yield was revised upwards to 4.44t/ha. The estimated grain maize yield was revised down by 4%.

Overall cereal yields were forecast down 2% from the June report to an average yield of 5.5t/ha. Hot weather was the reason for much of the drops in yield estimates.

The report stated: “In large parts of southern-central and south-eastern Europe, June and July were exceptionally hot, with several days seeing maximum temperatures above 35°C, which negatively affected summer crops around flowering.

“Notably in eastern Hungary, eastern Romania, Bulgaria, and Greece the high temperatures were coupled with a persistent rain deficit, exacerbating these negative impacts.

“Winter and spring cereals were less affected in these regions, as they had already reached the end of the growth cycle.”

Oilseed rape

Oilseed rape prices climbed last week. The French price for November closed at €494.50/t, up from €479.75/t the week before. On Wednesday morning it was at €495.75/t.

In Canada canola prices went to a seven-week high this week according to Agritel. This should help to support prices. The crop condition report from the European Commission revised estimated rapeseed production down 2% from an average yield of 3.16t/ha last month, to 3.10t/ha this month.

Native prices

Markets look positive this week, but have yet to filter down to native prices. At present, prices are still really moving up and down from where they were. As a result, spot prices look unchanged from last week.

Barley was reported at €210-215/t and wheat at €230-235. Those prices look similar for November.