FEED WHEAT markets have fallen below £60/t this week (w/e Sept 10), as harvest progress has increased pressure for immediate movement of crops.

London wheat futures reached an 18-month low of £63/t for September on Tues, Sept 8 – equivalent to about £58/t ex-farm depending on region.

With harvest now 80-90% complete, fresh farmer selling has knocked ex-farm values by more than £1/t over the past week, say traders.

Gleadell trading director David Sheppard said milling wheat quality and yields had suffered due to August‘s wet weather.

But although he expected the UK crop size to be just 15.5m tonnes, increased milling wheat imports would mean there would still be an exportable surplus of 3-3.5m tonnes.

Milling wheat premiums have widened to £20-£25/t for full specification Group One varieties, with up to £30/t achievable for samples reaching 14% protein.

Oilseed rape markets continue to be volatile, affected by the Chicago futures‘ sensitivity to adverse weather reports while the US soya crop remains in the critical yield-building period.

Although the EU‘s large crop was acting as a buffer against such movement, French MATIF futures had fluctuated between €213/t (£145/t) and €233 (£159) over the past three weeks, said Josh Dadd of the Home-Grown Cereals Authority.

But the Pound, which has weakened by almost 2% against the Dollar and the Euro since the end of August, has benefited domestic prices, which are pegged at about £136/t ex-farm, depending on the area.