UK wheat imports hit highest volumes for 30 years

UK wheat imports have been at the highest volumes since records began almost 30 years ago, so far for the 2024-25 crop year.

Wheat imports totalled 1.45m tonnes during the first five months of the season, with merchants and millers keen to get hold of supplies following an exceptionally small UK harvest last year.

The final 2024 UK wheat harvest was just 11.1m tonnes, according to Defra, down by 20% on the previous year.

See also: Ex-farm barley subdued at £156/t despite fewer plantings

Import volumes of wheat entering the UK more than doubled during November alone, compared with the five-year average.

In excess of 295,000t of wheat was imported into the UK in November, a 71% increase on the same month last year.

Gabriel Odiase, cereals and oilseeds analyst at the AHDB, said:

“The strong pace of wheat imports has continued due to lower production and quality issues in 2024, as well as a historically higher level of sterling against the euro.”

He suggested that a large proportion of UK wheat imports to date were milling quality, mostly from Germany and Canada.

Industry trade association UK Flour Millers say about 15% of wheat used by millers is imported in any typical year, however early figures for 2024-25 suggest this could be much higher.

Forecasts by the AHDB indicate that the UK could import 2.75m tonnes of wheat during the full crop year, with import volumes expected to slow towards the end of the season.

As import volumes increase, questions around comparable standards are likely to be raised by industry.

Last year, Red Tractor faced scrutiny from farmers over varying standards between domestic crops and imported products.

This resulted in Red Tractor announcing plans to develop a new entry level grain standard for feed wheat, however further progress is yet to be announced.

Exports

UK wheat exports have dwindled by comparison and were down by 62% on the previous year at 51,600t between July and November 2024.

Mr Odiase added: “Unsurprisingly, exports of UK grains are lagging behind the pace of last year and the five-year average.

“Season-to-date barley exports have totalled 189,300t, below last year’s 330,900t and the five-year average of 1.1m tonnes.

“For oats, 5,500t was exported from July to November, significantly lower than last season’s 57,800t and the five-year average of 45,200t.”