Barleys show some promise
Barleys show some promise
FIRST barleys cut in the south suggest growers can expect good specific weights and reasonable nitrogens this harvest, and average to above average yields.
But it is too early to assess malting quality, says traders. Some only started testing samples at the beginning of this week.
Prices remain the main talking point, with as available barley at £60-£61/t. But wheat will be worse, with some quotes at £55/t off the combine well away from ports.
Fine weather this week also undermined early wheat premiums, which had been as high as £78/t delivered last week. With more early growers confident of cutting at the end of this month, delivered prices for the first week of August had fallen to about £73/t on Wednesday, but were slipping steadily, says Glencores Tim Mayhew.
All eyes are on France, where reports of poor early wheat quality in the south-west are causing concern. "The French problems are a double-edged sword for the UK," says Dalgetys Trevor Harriman. Poor quality in both countries would put prices under pressure.
But if French quality improves and the UK is poor, then UK prices would struggle. If that is reversed, then the UK could find better markets, holding values at higher levels, despite a potential 4.5-5m tonne surplus, he says. *