Over the past week, grain markets have continued to move upwards.

The French Matif wheat price for November was at €283.75/t on Friday evening 10 February.

That was an increase of €10/t on the week before and at the time of going to print, that price was at €286.25/t.

The Black Sea grain corridor agreement, which is up for renewal in March, is most likely a factor in this market movement.

Prices did dip slightly last week. Strategie Grains increased the EU’s wheat production forecast last week and this led to a slight drop in markets for a short time.

It increased EU wheat production forecasts from 129.3Mt to 129.7Mt.

Picking up

Markets had been very quiet for the past two months on the buyers’ front, but seem to be picking up for the past week or two.

Barley is good value at present, while it trades below maize. Maize price has held steady over the past month.

Dry weather in Argentina continued to support maize prices, while soya is also supported by that.

However, a large soya bean crop from Brazil is expected to put some pressure on prices, according to the Agriculture and Horticulture Development Board (AHDB).

The AHDB reported it is positive for wheat and barley over the next few months, but is unsure on maize prices.

Minimum beans price

At home, Dairygold offered a minimum contract price of €285/t to its suppliers on Wednesday 14 February.

The co-op has put huge emphasis on native grains to improve sustainability credentials and support tillage farmers.

Oilseed rape

Oilseed rape prices moved up as well this week, but not at the same levels as wheat and barley.

The French price for oilseed rape for next August was at €547/t last Friday, up over €4/t on the week before, while the November price was at €548/t. That’s up €3.50/t on the previous week.

Native prices

Spot prices for dry native barley were over €270/t this week, while wheat was trading above €300/t.

November prices are trading below this, with barley at approximately €260/t and wheat at approximately €280/t.

Tirlán offered farmers €223/t for green feed barley this week and €233/t for green feed wheat, up €3/t on last week for each product.

The AHDB reported spot prices for wheat and barley from Belfast this week. Feed barley was at £252/t (€283/t) and feed wheat was at £279/t (€314/t).