On-farm wheat stocks fall 10%
Farm stocks of wheat have fallen 10% on last year, after 2012’s poor harvest.
Own-grown wheat stocks on farms totalled 3.5m tonnes in February 2013, compared with 3.9m tonnes at the same time in 2012.
However, the proportion of the harvest kept on farm remained the same, at around 28%.
“It is thought that a lot of the wheat still on farms is being kept back for animal feed due to the poor quality,” said a DEFRA report.
The top wheat-producing regions had the highest proportions still on farm, with 39% held in the East Midlands and 29% in the east of England.
Wheat stocks held at ports, co-ops and merchants in the UK were at 1.2m tonnes – a similar figure to 2012. However, the proportion of home-grown wheat was lower.
Imported wheat made up 274,000t in February 2013, compared with 117,000t the year before.
“This is consistent with increased demand for higher quality wheat for milling due to the poor quality of the 2012 UK wheat crop,” DEFRA said.
In contrast to the wheat figures, barley stocks were up. On farm stocks increased 15% from February 2012 to 616,000t, following a 3% increase in production.