Oilseed rape price rise prompts farmer selling

Oilseed rape prices have reached their highest level since last August, breaking the £300/t barrier and sparking a flurry of farmer selling.
As Farmers Weekly went to press on Wednesday, spot rapeseed was worth about £303/t ex-farm – £25 above the low reached just a month ago. “The persistence of hot and dry conditions in Brazil is the main influence,” said a report by HGCA.
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This was driving soya bean markets sharply higher, with palm oil prices also soaring to a 17-month high amid hot and dry weather in Malaysia and Indonesia. New crop rapeseed prices are also slightly firmer, at about £285/t for September.
Aided by the slightly weaker pound against the euro, domestic feed wheat values have risen slightly, to about £154/t ex-farm for spot movement and about £140/t for September. “There is still a lack of exports, which is making it difficult for trade in Kent, as we rely heavily on exports,” said Charles Roberts from Grain Harvesters.
New crop trade remained extremely quiet, with little fresh news and bumper global crops still on the horizon, he added. “If we don’t get a weather scare it’s hard to see the market doing anything but come down.”