The European Commission has been given permission to release stocks of cereals from intervention in a bid to take the heat out of spiralling feed grain prices.

A total of 88,112t of soft wheat and 2.71m tonnes of barley will be released through a tendering procedure this month – the deadline for the first tender is 24 November 2010.

The remaining stocks (about 2.8m tonnes) will be used for the EC’s Most Deprived Persons programme and distributed via charities and public authorities.

EU Commissioner for Agriculture & Rural Development Dacian Ciolos said: “As I announced at the September Council, the time is now ripe to release cereals from intervention stocks onto the EU market.

“The tendering procedure for releasing stocks means that the Commission retains control of both the volume and the price of the stocks coming onto the market, and so we will follow the evolution closely to make sure that the market is not disrupted.”

The Commission will formally adopt the plans in the coming days.

Click here to read more about the latest rise in grain prices or take part in an FWi forum discussion on how far ahead to sell grain.