Grain markets were largely on a downward trend this week, although were down little from the close of 2022.

However, products such as soya were on the up in many places as drought in Argentina pushed markets.

As the year closed, here is a quick comparison on French wheat prices from the end of 2021 to the end of 2022.

French wheat for March finished on 30 December 2022 at a price of €309.25/t, while French wheat for December 2023 was at €289.75/t.

This compares with prices of €278.50/t (March 2022) and €250.20/t (December 2022) for French wheat on 31 December 2021.

Markets dropped approximately €5/t on Tuesday 3 January, leaving French wheat for December 2023 at €284/t.

The Agriculture and Horticulture Development Board (AHDB) is reporting that EU markets are under pressure from the prospects of increased Russian wheat exports.

In the UK, the AHDB is reporting final results from its cropping intentions survey.

The wheat area is expected to stay fairly similar at approximately 1.821 million hectares. Barley area is expected to be down about 2% due to reduced spring planting intentions.

UK wheat markets were moving similarly to French this week, dropping by approximately £5/t on the previous week’s close. The drought in Argentina, caused by a La Nina weather event, is helping to keep maize and soya prices up, as there are fears that yields may be affected.

Reuters reported that 2022 was the driest in Argentina’s grain belt since 2008. A small amount of rain has fallen, but crops would benefit from rain in the coming weeks.

US maize prices were moving positively last week. However, if the bumper crop expected from Brazil comes, this is likely to stop maize prices from moving too far.

Some rain has fallen over the past few days in the country and there are suggestions that the weather event could be coming to an end.

Looking down under and Australia is set to report a record wheat crop after one of the wettest years in the country’s records.

A La Nina weather event, which brings drought to South America, brings wet weather to Australia and has dominated the weather in Australia for two years and while it was expected to continue, the event may be easing.

Native prices

At home, spot prices of €310/t for native barley and €320/t for native wheat have been reported.

Imported barley is at approximately €315/t, while imported wheat is at €325/t. Corn is trading at €315/t, while soya is at a big price of €615/t.