The Matif wheat price for December 2026 closed at €202.25/t on Friday last and on Wednesday afternoon was at €199.75/t.

That’s the lowest the price has reached this year. It has really been on a steady decline since mid-July.

The Agriculture and Horticulture Development Board (AHDB) also reported that the UK feed wheat futures reached contract lows on Tuesday. The November 2026 contract fell to £171.25/t.

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There are a number of factors affecting markets and prices. A big one is the ample supply of grain.

The wheat harvest is estimated to be 58% complete in Argentina, according to the AHDB, which said the Rosario Grain Exchange raised the country’s wheat crop estimate to a record 27.7m tonnes, up from 24.5m tonnes.

Talks on peace in Ukraine are also influencing markets and will no doubt affect markets as news comes from those talks.

CBAM

The carbon border adjustment mechanism (CBAM) is coming around the corner quickly. Read more on P4 and page 16.

It could extend to machinery parts, nuts and bolts, but is not being placed on imported grain.

Meanwhile, fertiliser price hikes will add significantly to the cost of grain production in the EU.

CBAM will add cost to fertiliser, but fertiliser markets will still be affected by demand, gas price and other factors, so it is still important to keep an eye on these things as well to look for possible value in the market. Grain price is only one factor in profit.

Malting barley

Malting barley continues to struggle in the markets. There are reports of malting barley being exported from European countries on to the feed market – a sign of price issues.

Looking at the Free-On-Board Creil Planet price for December/March 2026, it was at €190.50/t this week, while January/June 2026 Planet barley was at the same price. The October/March 2027 price was at €216/t. These are all dried prices.

On Wednesday, that €190.50/t price for malting barley was only €3.25/t above the dried Matif wheat price of €187.25/t.

Malting barley growers in Ireland are generally paid close to the dried price for green barley. Boortmalt has placed a €10/t parity charge on each tonne in recent years.

Oilseed rape

Oilseed rape prices have declined in recent days. The Matif oilseed rape price for December closed at €454.50/t on Friday. It was down from €460.25/t the day before. On Wednesday, it had fallen a further €3.25/t. Oil prices dropped to a new low in recent days.