Grain markets had been settled over the past week, although markets could be described as volatile overall and Tuesday’s closing prices showed some of the volatility, as nearby French wheat prices took a drop.

For example, French milling wheat for May closed at €291.50/t on Friday 17 February.

This price dropped to €286.25/t on Tuesday 21 February.

However, December prices were not affected as much and closed at €283.75/t on Tuesday, similar to Friday’s price.

Oilseed rape was a big mover in the market over the past week.

French oilseed rape for November finished at €563.25/t on Friday 17 February. That’s up €15.25/t on the week previous. This price dropped slightly by Tuesday to €557.50/t.

Lack of rain in South America is a big driver behind this market, as Argentina’s soya bean crop is expected to be down approximately 10 million tonnes (Mt) this year and this has played into oilseed markets.

The Brazilian crop has also been estimated down, but this crop is extremely big and could put pressure on oilseed prices to drop.

The International Grains Council report published last week lowered the total world grain production by 8.2Mt to 2.248Mt for 2022/2023. However, total consumption was also cut.

Back to early 2022 price

This time last year, green barley prices for harvest 2022 were trading at over €220/t.

After the invasion of Ukraine, those prices continued to make new records and eventually ended up at over €300/t for barley in harvest 2022.

We are now back to pre-war levels in the markets. Green barley prices for harvest 2023 are at over €220/t and while 2023 will be a challenging one, the reason behind the record grain prices of 2022 puts things into perspective.

One of the From the Tramlines farmers last year described it as the low point in the year that the high grain prices were as a result of people suffering.

The Black Sea grain corridor is still a big factor in markets at present and whether that corridor will remain open once the renewal date comes.

The Agriculture and Horticulture Development Board (AHDB) reported this week that an extension to the grain corridor would mean “a slightly bearish outlook longer term”. The AHDB also reported that: “Longer term, increasing focus is on new-crop production.”

Native prices

On the home front, maize remains steady at a price of €305/t to €310/t.

November prices for barley look to be steady at approximately €265/t, with wheat about €15/t over this.