Currency movements help to improve pulse prices
© Tim Scrivener Pulse prices have improved over the past week, buoyed by the weakening pound against the dollar.
As Farmers Weekly went to press on Wednesday (20 January), feed beans were averaging almost £125/t ex-farm for spot movement, with feed peas at about £115/t and micronising peas at about £133/t.
According to Alan Wymer at Saxon Agriculture, the whole market had been dragged up by better human consumption bean prices. “Edible beans trade to the Middle East in dollars, so we’ve seen UK prices improve purely on currency movements,” he said.
“That’s dragged the feed bean market up with it.”
Many farmers were still storing beans on farm, at high moisture levels of up to 20%, added Mr Wymer.
However, with the mild weather farmers should be careful not to let the condition of stocks deteriorate, he warned.
“There’s a risk of beans going black and mouldy, so if they’re not dried quickly they will be downgraded from human consumption to feed. Human consumption beans are making a £20-£25/t premium, and if stocks are downgraded it will continue to tighten the human consumption market and could eventually flood the feed bean market.”