This time last week, shares in Aryzta and Greencore were the strongest-performing stocks of all the listed Irish agri-food plcs, having made double-digit gains over the course of the week.

However, the reverse has happened this week, with shares in Aryzta and Greencore posting the worst performance of all the listed agri-food companies and giving back much of the previous week’s gains.

7% drop

Shares in embattled bakery group Aryzta dropped more than 7% this week to €8.60.

Aryzta stocks had soared 15% last week after the group announced it had struck a deal with five international banks that will allow the company move ahead with plans to raise €800m in fresh capital from financial markets in a bid to strengthen its balance sheet and reduce debts.

In a similar fashion, shares in Greencore are down 9% in the last week to £1.77.

This week’s performance reverses much of the gains from last week, where shares in Greencore were up 11% to an eight-month high at £1.94.

Of the other agribusiness plcs, shares in Origin Enterprises are up more than 2% this week to €5.88, while shares in Kerry Group are down almost 2% in the week to €94.70.

Oil continues to hover close to the $80 mark, with Brent crude oil trading at $79/barrel on Friday.