Ex-farm oilseed rape values firmed this week as crushers returned to the market for old-crop supplies.

With little of the UK’s exportable surplus left to ship, buyers have had to compete aggressively for the tonnages left on farm.

As Farmers Weekly went to press, farmers with crop left in store could receive £149-£152/t for spot movement in many parts of the eastern counties and the south, a rise of up to £5/t on the week.

Meanwhile, traders had prices pegged at £150/t off the combine this harvest with £158-£160/t available for November movement, depending on location.

Glencore Grain’s Nick Oakhill said there could be as little as 50-60,000t of the UK’s 250,000t exportable surplus remaining.

“Crushers are far less comfortable now about the remaining tonnages, and have had to step up for the crop still on farm.

This has had important implications for new crop, with £150/t available pretty much anywhere in England.”

Justin Reynolds, senior oilseeds trader at Grainfarmers, said:

“There should be sufficient rapeseed left to see buyers to the end of the season, but farmers, both here and on the Continent, are reluctant sellers.”

Feed wheat prices had also firmed in recent weeks as the exportable surplus was gradually whittled away.

“It’s difficult to lay hands on feed wheat for spot movement and some buyers have had to pay £70/t ex-farm.

This has reinforced milling premiums of about £5/t to justify the risk of putting it on a lorry,” said Mr Oakhill.

Frontier’s trading director Jon Duffy said the size of crops in Russia and the Ukraine, against which UK new crop supplies would have to compete, remained unclear.

“After a hard winter, much of the ground is still under snow so the extent of the winter kill is unknown.”

Futures prices for November feed wheat were £73.50-£74.50/t, putting ex-farm UK feed wheat for October-December at £69-£70/t in many areas, he added.