Hugh Schryver from Glencore in Canterbury, Kent says this year “is a very confused harvest”.

“We‘ve got some farmers that have completely finished over a week ago while there are others who haven‘t even started yet.”

Mr Schyver said the early yields were slightly disappointing. Later crops had better yields but there are fears quality will start to fall if wet weather continues.

“The question is, how will it look in a week‘s time?”

Much of Kent had a clear and dry fortnight, allowing them to make some progress, with about 40% of the wheat now harvested in the county.

But with the deterioration of milling wheat quality, Mr Schryver predicts millers will start to look at places such as Germany to fill the gap in supply.