Native grain is in strong demand from merchants and this is leading to price offers which are significantly above last year’s base price levels.

Some merchants have been reportedly offering up to €200/t for green barley and wheat in an effort to secure both grain supply and outstanding credit.

Growers have also been offered between €225/t and €230/t for dry grain between now and November.

Meanwhile, futures prices continue to fluctuate on news of weather, supply and market reports. But physical prices show less volatility, as there is little actual selling and buying going on within the trade as distinct from grower to merchant.

But the buoyancy in feed price is currently acting against malting barley price premium, as green barley is very close to MATIF wheat – on which malting barley prices are based. This may change again.

It is still not possible to say if the market has seen its peak in price, or whether physical prices will actually fall from their current level.

Harvesting pressure

Perhaps these levels may even be exceeded sometime in the future. But from a grower’s perspective it is much more pleasant to have harvest pressure driving prices upwards rather than downwards, which has been the case for the past few years.