Grain markets improve on weaker euro
Grain markets have improved over the past week, with oilseed rape particularly well supported.
As Farmers Weekly went to press, feed wheat was up almost £4/t on the week, to about £197/t ex-farm for spot movement. Milling wheat and feed barley were also firmer, albeit in very thin trade, while oilseed rape increased by £10/t on the week, to about £385/t ex-farm.
“Soya bean prices have increased on concerns over the ability of Brazilian infrastructure to transport the record soya bean crop to the ports,” said a report by HGCA. “This has lead to fears over tightening near-term stocks if demand is diverted back to the USA.”
The weaker euro against the dollar was also supporting EU markets, with EU rapeseed values reaching levels not seen since November, according to analyst Agritel. “New crop conditions in France are still a source of worry, which should lead to a correction of the planted area estimations due to winter damage.”
However, the latest MARS bulletin on EU crop prospects said cold weather had delayed cereal growth in northern France, Poland and Germany, but average yields were still likely. Conditions were favourable in Spain and Portugal, with yield potential looking good across eastern Europe and the Black Sea region.