Matif wheat for December finished last Friday at €235.75/t, down €7.75/t on the previous week. This improved early this week when it closed on Monday at €240.25/t and remained the same on Tuesday.

The volatility in the market is coming from numerous factors. The Agriculture and Horticulture Development Board (AHDB) is neutral on wheat and barley prices and negative on maize, oilseed and soya beans for the coming months.

Competitively priced grain from the Black Sea continues to put some downward pressure on markets. Volatility there is also affecting markets.

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Reuters reported that the first big ship carrying grain from a Ukrainian Black Sea port since the end of the grain initiative left the port of Chornomorsk last week.

Dry weather in Australia is creating concerns over wheat supply, as crops in Australia are at a crucial time for development. That dry weather is caused by an El Nino which the Australian Bureau of Meteorology has said is now under way.

Maize prices also moved down this week, despite a forecast reduction of 3% in European maize production by the European Commission last week. A big crop from Brazil continues to influence the market.

In the US, maize prices are also down as the harvest moves on. Some 15% of the maize crop was reported to be harvested on 24 September, 2% ahead of the five-year average.

Oilseed rape

Oilseed rape price dipped early this week, but returned to prices similar to the past two weeks on Wednesday afternoon when the November French price was at €445/t.

The November 2024 price closed on Friday 22 September at €467/t. On Wednesday afternoon 27 September, that price was at €462.75/t. An improvement in oilseed prices in Canada and the US most likely played into this rise.

Malting price settled

The harvest price for malting barley has been settled at €274.75/t.

The average of the Free-On-Board Creil Planet malting barley price every Wednesday from the middle of April to the middle of September was used to calculate the price. This average finished at €284.75/t and Boortmalt had previously said it was deducting a charge for drying and logistics of €10/t.

Native prices

Amid the volatility, prices at home remain similar to recent weeks, but with reports of few sellers in the market. This places dry barley at a spot price of about €230/t and wheat €10/t ahead of this.

If you have settled final harvest prices with your merchant please let us know at tillagenews@farmersjournal.ie.