Merchant wants more
13 October 2000
Merchant wants more
DURUM wheat gross margins can compete very well with alternative crops, says Herts-based Harlow Agricultural Merchants.
Having lobbied successfully for a specific aid package for a 5000ha (12,355 acre) English durum crop in 1999, the firm had 4300ha (10,625 acres) grown on contract for semolina and pasta production last season and is seeking more growers.
"We would like to see this rise by 700ha to take maximum advantage of the money on offer from Brussels," says managing director Ian Low. Every effort will be made to ensure there is no area overshoot which could cut the subsidy.
"In what has been a mixed harvest for most arable crops, durum wheat has held up well with good quality and variable, but in general, good yields."
Unlike last year, when 30-40% of samples proved unsatisfactory for milling because of poor Hagbergs, main problems this season were low proteins and specific weights.
But less than 1% of the 260 samples tested so far have failed to attract a premium, says Mr Low. "We believe that with the combination of premium and yield achieved this year added to the extra £86/ha or so on top of the normal cereal aid, gross margins for most of our growers will look very competitive."
At £62/t for feed wheat HAMs calculations put a 5.5t/ha (2.2t/acre) full £20/t premium-earning durum crop on a par with an 8.6t/ha (3.5t/acre) wheat crop. If the quality attracts only a £5/t premium it needs to yield 6.7t/ha (2.7t/acre) to generate the equivalent return.
DURUMDRIVE
• More pasta growers required.
• Extra area aid & potential premium.
• Margins competitive with alternatives.
• Protein levels main problem in 2000.
Durum is used to create a wide range of pasta products, and UK growers could produce more of it, an eastern merchant believes.