UK wheat futures fall alongside global markets
© Tim Scrivener UK wheat prices have slipped further in recent days following wider global market trends.
Farmers Weekly’s UK spot feed wheat prices gathered on 14 January averaged £202.40/t, down £6/t on the previous week. Spot prices ranged from £192/t to £216/t between regions.
Global wheat prices fell this week in the wake of an outlook that suggested steady supply, decreased consumption, reduced exports and increased stocks.
See also: 5 high-tech advances that could change arable farming
The US Department of Agriculture’s latest World Agricultural Supply and Demand Estimates (WASDE) report included a large reduction in global consumption estimates, outweighing smaller increases in global production.
Chicago and Paris wheat futures both fell on the news, with Paris wheat futures down by €7 (£5.84) on the previous week to average €263.75/t (£220.20) on 13 January.
UK market
The London May 2022 feed wheat futures stood at £213.05/t on 13 January, down £4.45 on week earlier levels.
Alice Jones, senior analyst at AHDB, said: “Much of the news around the USDA reports focuses on changes to estimates further afield.
“However, with UK supply and demand relatively tight this year for both cereals and rapeseed, domestic pricing has tracked global markets closely this season.
“Therefore, any effects to Chicago and Paris futures markets will generally translate into domestic prices.”
Jonathan Lane, ADM Agriculture’s head of grain trading, said on 13 December: “UK prices have fallen from the pre-Christmas peak, down around £4/t over the week. London futures for May 2022 have slipped around 5% since the December high and 10% from the contract high in late November.”
The London May feed wheat futures fell again this morning to £210/t.
Maize
The US Department of Agriculture’s report estimates lower global maize production, reduced consumption and lower ending stocks than in its previous report.
The global coarse grain production forecast has been cut by 1.6m tonnes to 1.5bn tonnes. Maize production estimates were cut in Argentina and Brazil but increased in the US and Ukraine.
Soya beans
The Chicago soya bean May-22 contract stood at $509.68/t, down $3.21/t on the previous week, following a jump the previous day when the WASDE report was published.
The USDA forecast lower production, crush, exports, and ending stocks in its 2021/22 global soya bean outlook.
Will Ringrose, ADM Agriculture’s head of oilseeds, said “Yesterday’s USDA report fell largely within trade expectations.
“US soya bean yields increased from 51.2 to 51.4 bushels/acre, while the harvested area dropped very slightly to 86.3m acres.”